


You Need Sleep

by Lunetic



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: DOTO - Freeform, Dreams, Fluff, Human Outsider (Dishonored), M/M, Some angst, a confused emily, a confusing outsider, mama lurk, one (1) sex scene, plot? wow!, sleep-deprived corvo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:02:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 32,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22265290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunetic/pseuds/Lunetic
Summary: "'I love you' is not an appropriate response to someone who just agreed to ditch a meeting for one of your whims."There was a smile. "So you agree to it."
Relationships: Corvo Attano/The Outsider (Dishonored)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 161





	1. Sleep

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bluelongan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluelongan/gifts).



> This is a fic I never expected to write. I came up with the prompt in the summary, and from there, a story bloomed. Hope you like it!

It shouldn't have hit him so suddenly. He'd known it all along, and reality had just been slowly creeping up on him.

At the dinner table, Corvo came to a sudden realisation that he hadn't slept properly in days. In fact, the last time he checked, he hadn't slept at all for the past 48 hours. He would have done something about it if he hadn't been so busy.

Emily had scolded him, and yes, he should take better care of his body and at least take a nap, but it wasn't just that he didn't want to. This level of exhaustion was nothing compared to what he'd been through before, and besides, he was an old man. He'd even considered potential successors for his royal duties. He was ready to go - he should have been dead already, he always reminded himself, he was lucky to have lived for so long.

He could imagine Emily angrily biting her lip at him. People lived longer nowadays, and he was at the very least connected to royalty, so being fifty hardly meant the end of his lifespan. Still...

Perhaps he just really needed sleep. Just one more meeting, and he could be comatose for as long as he wanted. Well, not really, but the world had no choice but to let him sleep his fill. 

When he noticed there was a crack in one window, and a gaping hole in another, trailing out to endless blue and warped stones, Corvo had an inkling he succumbed to his sleep deprivation a little too early.

He walked through the hole in the wall, expecting the usual. The first time he had entered was terrifying, like a fever dream, but as foreign and strange and dangerous as the Void seemed to be, it never struck him as sinister. After the initial shock had passed, whenever he entered this place, though things were never in the same arrangement as he last saw it, he could feel parts of the Void reaching out for him, wrapping him gently in Its grasp.

Then, on a ledge, the Outsider materialised into being. There was an unusual expression on his face - tense, tired, or even disappointed?

"You haven't slept in days."

Corvo ran heavy fingers through his hair. "Thanks. I'm aware. Though, you're one to talk. You don't look much better."

The Outsider put a finger to his lips in thought. "Considering I haven't slept in centuries..."

_ 'Do you even really need sleep, though?' _ thought Corvo.

"Not really. So I suppose it doesn't matter. But I digress."

"Okay, what's happening this time?"

"I need to do something for me."

Corvo narrowed his eyes. It was partially because he was about to fall asleep.

"What is it?"

"You keep the runes and bonecharms you collected in a hidden part of the palace. I need you to retrieve them and use them to create a shrine within the royal grounds."

Corvo paused. "You… want me to make a shrine for you."

"You are the best candidate," said the nameless man, though Corvo wasn't necessarily referring to that. "You are capable of retrieving the materials needed without being seen."

"I know, but why do you need me to make it here?" The moment he got caught with any of those materials, he would immediately be branded as a heretic. Worse, some key figures of the Abbey happened to be in the building right now.

"Urgent matters," the Outsider unhelpfully replied. "Speaking of urgency, I need you to accomplish this by tonight."

Corvo was about to choke. "Tonight?! Void, I have a meeting later, and as you mentioned I haven't slept in - " 

"You aren't obliged to do it. It just so happens to be an issue bordering on the brink of my life and death."

Corvo sighed. "No pressure, right? Look, I know I should at least be amenable to help the guy who gave me life-saving powers, but I have all these responsibilities I need to - "

"You fell asleep at the dinner table. Your upper body is now sprawled across the table. Do you seriously think you're in a position to attend a meeting right now? You should be thankful you finished your food before passing out like that."

As much as he hated to admit it, the Outsider was right. He was surprised to hear the boy berate him like that, though. It faintly reminded him of Emily.

"Skip the meeting," he continued. "It's not all that important anyway. Spend that energy on my request instead."

Corvo couldn't help but feel that the Outsider was being exceptionally needy today.

"You would appear needy as well if you were caught in a situation like mine."

Damn, he forgot he could at least semi-read his thoughts.

"Ugh. Okay, let me think in peace."

So, tonight's plan. 

It was between two things: wake up, get to the meeting and maybe help the Outsider but most likely fall asleep before that happens, or wake up, pretend to go to sleep early so that he had time to do his illicit activities before inevitably passing out.

While he contemplated the two options, there was a long pause. The god of the Void really was letting him think in peace.

It was true that the meeting was rather important, and that it would seem rude if he did a no-show.

But the thought occurred to him that he was Corvo Attano, Royal Protector and secretly Spymaster who is also directly related to the Empress. He hated taking advantage of his position, but surely it could be excused from  _ one _ meeting when it involved something as serious as the Outsider's very (quasi)-livelihood.

Then he realised, why would he willingly choose to attend a fucking _ royal meeting _ when he could be blinking through the rooftops instead?

Thinking about it this way, wasn't the Outsider giving him a chance to escape? Hah, as if he'd be that generous in his kindness.

_ 'Then again, he's been awfully concerned about my wellbeing…' _

"Is it that unbelievable for me to be looking out for those with my mark?"

Corvo blinked out of his own thoughts.

"Kind of, yeah."

"Why?" 

"You have a, uh, shady reputation? That doesn't help."

Not that  _ that _ really affected his view of the Outsider, and neither did it stop him from trusting him. Still, it felt weird to receive his attention like this. Either way, it wasn't like he was against helping him, but he was definitely not going to be happy about it. Not even if the Outsider started showering him with endless affection or something.

His thought train was interrupted again, this time by a loud, chiming laugh. He looked up quizzically at the source.

"I love you," said the Outsider. "You know that, right?"

Corvo suddenly doubted his hearing abilities.

_ Y'know, Emily, one time I was so sleep deprived on a trip to the Void that I thought the damn Outsider said -  _

"You got it right the first time," said the Outsider again.

Corvo was stunned.

" _ 'I love you' _ is not an appropriate response to someone who just agreed to ditch a meeting for one of your whims."

There was a smile. "So you agree to it."

Poor Corvo rubbed his temples. "That was not an appropriate response either."

What was happening? Was it just him who couldn't make sense of the current situation?

It had to be the lack of sleep, right? Yes, he was probably going delirious. Surely the boy would understand. Actually, it was more likely that he would be laughing at him from the comfort of his Void throne.

"You wouldn't mind me taking the materials from some of your existing shrines, right? Wouldn't destroy them or anything, just get bits and pieces and then assemble them."

"I don't mind. Just don't use it as an excuse to make a slipshod shrine. I have standards."

Corvo groaned. "Fine. An Outsider's shrine with the runes and charms I've collected, in the castle grounds, by tonight. Is that all you want me to do?" 

"Hm… there  _ is _ one more thing."

_ 'Of course there is.' _

"Go back to your room right after. Get yourself comfortable and sleep as soon as possible. Please, for my sake."

Corvo's mouth gaped open.

_ 'Is he… is he trying to nag at me? For real?' _

"Anyway, it's time for you to wake up."

"Corvo? Corvo!"

That was Emily's voice. He felt a small but firm force shaking him awake. The moment he regained a sufficient amount of consciousness, he sat himself up and yawned.

"Hi, Emily. What time is it?"

"Five minutes to the meeting. Look, Corvo, I know this is a pretty important one, but I can handle this one on my own. Don't worry too much about me."

"It is my job to worry about you," he said, rubbing his bleary eyes.

"Dad…" said Emily in a lower voice. "You stayed up for my sake, so I should take responsibility. You need to sleep."

"I suppose you're right." Corvo stood up, tidying up the bizarre arrangement of plates his sleeping position had caused. "I'm damn exhausted, Emily. I'm sorry, but I think I'll have to skip this one."

Emily had prepared all sorts of persuasion techniques and stashed them up her sleeve, ready to employ. She… didn't get to use them at all?

"Are you sure?" Emily was surprised, to say the least.

"Yeah. Otherwise, I'd end up embarrassing you or something."

Corvo followed her plans so well that she became a little suspicious.

"Don't try anything funny, okay?" she said sternly. "When I say I want you to rest, you really have to rest, okay?"

Corvo felt guilty for lying, so he spilled the beans. "Okay. If I'm not in my room, I'll be somewhere in the castle building a shrine for the Outsider."

"Wait, what?" 

He sighed. "I'll explain later. I'm heading to bed."

Emily laughed. There was a part of her that didn't believe him, but there was a part of her that did.

"As long as you're taking a break."

~

The night was young, and Corvo felt alive. He searched his memory for places where the Heart had led him to before. Leaping across in the cover of the night required a specific type of concentration that cleared his head and put him at ease.

There were a few things that wouldn't slip off his mind so easily, though. Like Emily, who he was ever so proud of, and yet couldn't help worrying about. And, well…

Like the Outsider, and what he said.

It was too bizarre to ignore!  _ 'I love you'? _ Why? Did it mean what he thought it meant? Was it even possible for the extra-dimensional being to  _ love _ like a human? Though, even the Outsider was human, once.

Corvo thought that maybe he was overthinking. He had immediately assumed that - _ oh, the embarrassment _ \- that the love he proclaimed meant anything other than one of a mentor or benefactor. One has to have some love for their disciples, right?

No, it didn't sound like something you would say to a disciple.

And why had he said it, as if he was supposed to know? Had he missed something, or forgotten about it? Perhaps the Outsider knew something about Corvo that he himself didn’t?

_ ‘What am I thinking, of course he knows something. He knows everything. Probably?’ _

Maybe… it was to make him so preoccupied that he wouldn't think too much about the fact that he was building a shrine for him?

Yes, that sounded very much like something he would do. He was always that annoyingly clever.

Folding bits and pieces into a small sack, he completed his rounds with relative ease. He travelled back, entered the hidden chamber that housed his runes and bonecharms. Then, he began building.

Corvo wasn’t the best at craftsmanship, but he was suddenly motivated to go to great efforts to perfect it, even if it was just to prove to the Outsider that he could do it.

Finally, he got the shrine to vaguely resemble one of the legitimate ones which he had stolen from. Then, black shards started to appear, and the boy sat on the altar, smiling with his arms folded.

"This will do," he said, much to Corvo's relief.

"Okay, great, I'm done here." Happily, he headed towards the window. "I'm gonna get a drink or something. Have a nice night, Out-"

"Not so fast."

Corvo skidded to a halt and turned around, looking slightly mortified.

"Did I not do what you asked?"

"Not yet." To Corvo's stunned face, he smirked. "What did I say about going to sleep right away?"

"Ah," was the reply. "Yeah, I'm deadbeat. Give me a while."

The Outsider stopped smirking.

"I'm serious. It is paramount that you go to sleep as soon as possible, and stay asleep."

Corvo was half-convinced that it was a part of some sort of ritual.

"You are just… full of surprises. Are you always this much of a nag with all of your marked people?"

"I'll be watching over you," he said without answering, flashing a brief smile. Then, he disappeared, leaving Corvo even more confused.

~

That night, he had a dream. 

They went into a small wooden shack, much like his childhood home. This place was different, though, it  _ felt _ different. It was so much gentler with him, it was softer at the edges. He was with a boy, and that boy welcomed him in. 

He didn't recognise the boy's face, but it felt familiar, and he remembered how it felt. He had gentle features, affectionately framed by his face. Whoever carved his image didn't want him to look like a god, because he didn't have to. He was the sweet boy living a street or two away, and Corvo was meant to meet him by accident.

There were people at home. A mother went over and fussed over the boy, and complimented Corvo on his appearance. Siblings played noisily at the back, and she shushed them. Corvo looked to them for a brief moment, before looking back at the boy who brought him here.

There was nothing extraordinary about him, at least not from the surface. His hairstyle was average, his voice was average, and the way he carried himself was nothing to write home about. Yet, Corvo was enamoured. He saw the smiley boy that became happy at the little things. He saw the soul that stood up for itself against his insecurities, he saw how vulnerable he was willing to be. Corvo thought he was endearing like that, a brave puppy he wanted to befriend forever.

_ Then, little bubbles of excitement formed in my heart. I revealed a little too much of my true self.  _

The boy went quiet. Something in his eyes had shut down. Corvo thought he got carried away, thought he lost him.

_ I thought you were sick of me, and maybe only tolerated me because you were too nice. Since I'm such an insufferable person sometimes. Actually, most of the time, if I’m not careful. _

He walked away, heart riddled with cracks. Nothing he wasn't used to, but it still hurt. It was hard to find someone who understood him like the boy did. It was a strange feeling, but the boy had  _ known _ him, unconditionally. Unknowingly, it had freed him, but perhaps it was the result of freedom that chased everyone away.

A sad mess of broken humour and bitterness.  _ I’ve been exposed, _ he thought, and now, he had to leave.

There were those concrete walls, and the stairs, and the two of them were there somehow. The boy looked exceptionally beautiful then.

_ I said it all, I told the truth. I told you what I felt about you. I thought, well, I might as well go out with a bang. I was expecting you to be disgusted, or confused. Because I know. _

_ I’m not supposed to like another boy - no, I’m not supposed to like you. _

And then, the impossible happened.

Revealing the little roses in his heart was normal idiocy on Corvo's part, but for someone to flourish a bouquet of hearts wholly for him in return, he had to be hallucinating. He hadn't even consider the possibility of requited love. 

In that moment, hearing his shy voice, seeing his eyes glued to the floor, him twiddling his thumbs, cheeks rosy, Corvo felt himself crumble to dust.

"You should know it already," he said, "but I love you."

Corvo fell. His heart leaped into the riptide, and he felt it melt like caramel.

He could feel the lovesick in the boy’s fragile heart, and he fell, and he fell, and fell, deeper and deeper, with stars in their eyes.

He wanted nothing but to relish in the feeling, to hold him, to whisper sweet nothings into his ear and love him deeply for the rest of the night. To touch him in the most innocent of ways; to soften and detangle his hair, to massage his sore shoulders, to kiss his forehead and feel their warmth combining.

_ You fell asleep first. You were in my arms, and my thoughts were filled with you. And I could almost feel you reaching out from within your sleep. _

The boy had dug out caves within himself, to try and contain all the feelings he had harboured all this while. Corvo peered into the caves and was lost in them. He could wander around them forever, admiring the intricacies of each vein, seeing the spots where those roses first bloomed, and then ached for him.

_ Then, without warning, you waved goodbye. _

~

When Corvo woke up, it was already midday. Rather than refreshed, he felt groggy, his head pounding slightly. That was to be expected, but he didn't expect to feel so empty and hollow inside, as if a great loss had struck him and left him stranded.

He got up, did some stretching, wondering about the sudden peculiar feeling when he recalled the night's dream. It remained quite vividly in his head, and for a good while he felt his soul wandering to that moment - the moment of young, innocent love.

When was the last time he felt that way? Far too long, and riddled with scars. Waking up felt like he had lost the feeling forever.

He thought about the boy in his dreams and mourned. He mourned that the boy might never appear to him in the same way again, as fleeting as all dreams were.

His door opened. At the entrance stood Emily, who observed her dad for a moment, before entering and shutting the door behind her.

"Dad," she started.

Corvo had turned to face her. He gave her a small smile. "Yes? How was the meeting yesterday?"

"Ah, that went okay." Emily clearly seemed preoccupied with something else. Then, abruptly, she pulled back her sleeve and showed her left hand.

"It's gone," she said.

It took a second for Corvo to realise why she was showing him her hand. It didn't look very different from usual, because every day she would cover her mark with makeup. This time, though, he knew it was different.

It was bare.

Corvo looked at his own hand, and saw the same.

Bare.

Corvo tried altering his vision, but it only left him cross-eyed. Their powers were gone.

"I suppose he took back his powers," he said.

"I don't think that's what it is," said Emily.

It shouldn't have hit him so suddenly. He'd known it all along, and reality had just been slowly creeping up on him.

"He's gone, isn't he?" she asked, an uncertain warble in her voice. "What happened last night?"

Corvo did not answer.

He swept his thumb over where the mark was once inked into his skin. 

He thought about the boy in his dreams. The boy with no name, the boy who had given him an 'I love you'.


	2. Silver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, somewhere in Karnaca...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I've continued the story after all. There will be 9 chapters in total (already written), and I'll upload them according to demand. Let me know what you think.

"What's your name?"

The young man who used to be the Outsider looked up at Billie for a long while. Then, his blue-green eyes darted away.

Billie had realised that asking a name from someone who had been nameless until only a minute ago might have been preposterous, but a non-answer was still surprising.

"I won't call you the Outsider anymore," she continued, "since you aren't any longer."

The young man shrugged, but remained silent, staring out into the space of the Void. How young and vulnerable he looked right now, thought his almost-killer, like a little boy who had just woken from a bad dream.

"It's alright," she said. "That's unimportant. Let's get you out of here."

She stood up, offering him a hand. He took it tentatively, stumbling a little when she pulled him up.

"Come on."

Around them, the Void was starting to shift. Openings, like window panes, began to undulate and reveal themselves. Billie's instincts told her that there seemed to be no immediate danger, but she still wanted to get them both out as soon as possible.

She looked behind and saw the young man jog his way towards her, step by step. He noticed her expression and stopped in place, except instead of actually stopping, he fell over.

Billie rushed over to him, checking him for any worrying injuries. "Are you alright?" she asked. Then, she gave a sterner look. "Can you walk?" 

"I can," said the young man, in an insistent tone. "Walking is manageable. It's just that, at your pace…"

'Ah.' Billie gave him a smirk of understanding. "You're not used to it."

He gave her a scrunched up face. "It's been far too long since I've done any bipedal movement. Move slower, please. At least until I've gotten used to it."

Billie didn't answer, but she did slow down, taking care to hide her face from him most of the way through. Strolling across the void like that, they eventually reached the entrance. Or, well, the exit.

~

As he stepped into the light, the young man squinted at the foreign sensation. By instinct, he had raised a hand to block it out, but the light came from all directions.

"I'm so glad I dealt with them before coming in," said Billie in a low voice. "Shouldn't be too much trouble getting out. How's the 'bipedal movement' coming along?" 

He grumbled faintly. "Definitely better than before."

Billie looked at the carnage she had left behind. Well, 'carnage', since before touching the Eye, most of the cult had only been knocked unconscious. They had clearly died, though. But not by her hand. Not anymore, no longer.

Their eyes were wide open - or for some of them, rather, eye. Shards of stone covered the floor, splattered with blood. Near each splattering, half-bodies lay sprawled on the ground. Where there had been stone, there were now frayed connections.

"Did this happen because I freed you?" she wondered aloud.

"How else?" the other replied. "I'm not quite sure how it happened. The eye is still there, after all. Perhaps it was a backlash. The Eye is not mine, but I was the eyes of the Void. Either way, good riddance."

Billie shook her head and continued out of Shindaery Peak. Before they left for good, though, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Any last business you have in there?"

He shook his head. "No. No more."

There was a finality, a resignation in his words that Billie recognised and knew all too well.

They headed out, and the further they walked, the less real the reality that had transpired moments ago had become.

"So… about your name," Billie struck up a needed conversation. "Are you going to tell me?"

A brief silence.

"Not that you have to," she added, a little too quickly for her liking. "You haven't had a name to yourself for the past few thousand years."

A heavy, tired sigh. "I won't tell you," he said. "Yes, I know. It's just a bunch of arbitrary syllables someone breathed into my life so that other people may call me by it. But the last time I told someone my name, it was used against me, and I became a sacrifice. No more."

Billie nodded. "No more. I'm not about to put you through unnecessary torture. Keep it." She knew very well that trauma was a force that bound people against their will. Yet, it was the will of the world, and it had to exist.

They continued their trek in silence. At this point, the boy who had once been nameless was better adjusted to his mortal body, and could maintain a regular running pace with minimal difficulty. Needless to say, he could walk normally now.

Regardless, due to the terrain they traversed through, he shaved close a few too many encounters with grave injury as he fell, time and time again. Not to mention, his legs were aching tremendously.

Billie broke the silence when the boy fell again, and his knee had hit a rock that cut through fabric and skin.

"You are severely unfit," she said in exasperation, treating his cut with a dash of medicinal herbs. Unexpectedly, she heard a giggle come from above. 

"My feet are literally killing me," he said, gasping for air. "They're aching so badly. I can't believe this." He had not said this with frustration, though. It was disbelief, but accompanied by a relieved, content smile.

Billie surmised that he hadn't felt this type of pain for a long, long time. All sensations were fresh and exciting for him. She was slightly worried about his newfound inclination for pain, though.

She smiled to herself. Getting worried so quickly?

She didn't allow herself time to ponder on that, though. She had other more urgent priorities at the moment, such as the fact that her extra baggage was in no condition to continue walking.

She did bring him back to life, so there was no way she could just abandon him there in clear conscience.

"Let's rest, then," she said, mostly to herself. She sat next to him while he massaged the soles of his feet.

"Is there at least some way I can address you by?" she asked once more for good luck. "It'll be hard to get by in civilisation without a name, hell, even an alias would be good enough."

He paused. He seemed to be considering the matter genuinely.

"I won't give you a name," he finally said. "But you may give me one, and I'll accept it."

"Like a nickname. Huh. Let me think…" She took a good look at him and regarded his general person. If she were to name him, she wouldn't use a generic name that you could find in every street. No, it had to  _ fit _ him.

It wasn't too hard to find inspiration. For one, the thing that had caught her attention for a while, his eyes. They were pale, faintly green, sometimes bluish, like a rare earthly crystal.

"Hazel? Nah, that's a bit too feminine. Let's see, names related to blue or green… Jade? Midori? Damn, why are all these names so  _ female… _ "

The boy opened his mouth, almost about to say something. Then, he shut it, and zipped his lips shut, almost as if he was afraid. Like a single contribution into the decision was akin to naming himself.

"Ah, I got it." She snapped her fingers. "It's perfect. I'll call you Silver."

His eyes widened a little. "S-i-l-v-e-r?"

"Yes. Your eyes, they're… silvery, almost. And besides, it fits. You've got a silver tongue."

"Silver," he said again. "Okay, I accept it."

He hadn't said it out loud, but Billie could tell that he liked the new name. Satisfied with her final choice, she sat there just thinking about the name for a while longer.

Minutes had passed.

"Alright, Silv," she said as she stood up. "Ready to go?" 

The boy groaned. "No, not really…"

"We can't stay here for long, though." She paced about impatiently, and when she came to a stop, her expression became unreadable. "I can probably carry you."

His eyes brightened. "Would you really?" 

"If the circumstances call for it…" Billie grumbled, but the look on his face seemed to imply that he knew more about her than she knew herself.

Even without the sight the Void god once had, there was still much that he could recall from when he had it. Seemed like the boy would remain annoying for a long time…

With the same amused expression, Silver reached his hands out to her. "I would like a piggyback, please."

"No," she said, but considered her alternatives and realised she had no other options. What else was she going to do, carry him bridal style?

At a steady pace, Billie made her way into town, with extra baggage clinging onto her back.

"We've become quite intimate very quickly," said the voice behind her. She could even hear him suppress his laughter.

She refused to reply with anything other than a quiet 'hmph'.

~

Stranger things have happened in the weeks since the Outsider's Mark disappeared.

For one, Corvo discovered that it hadn't only been them. Around the Isles, something strange had happened around the Outsider Shrines. Writings were blurred out, replaced with new words.

THE END IS NIGH, one read. HE HAS FORSAKEN US.

One familiar phrase remained, though.

THE OUTSIDER WALKS AMONG US.

The Abbey was keeping something secret, and Corvo made a personal effort to investigate - though, without the aid of the Outsider's magic, it was far trickier.

As expected, they had noticed. The Oracular Sisters had felt it like an earthquake rippling through space-time.

The Void was no longer centred into a single point. It was looming above everything, uncontrolled. The entity they had spent so much time and effort condemning and destabilising had suddenly left the picture. And to that, they simply carried on, pretending all was business as usual.

There was information being withheld - silvergraphs that were burnt, vaults that were broken into. A twin-bladed knife, stolen. The perpetrator, never found. Apparently, whoever who'd orchestrated these series of events was never spotted - not by a single person, and no one had even died. At most, they had been taken down, rendered unconscious.

Corvo and Emily recognised those signs very well, as people who had achieved similar feats. It had to be someone Marked, a witch perhaps, but what had been their goal?

The timing was too coincidental. A Marked person, or organisation. A twin-bladed knife that could slay a god. The disappearance of the Mark.

Everything that had transpired seemed to lead to one conclusion.

The death of the Outsider.

What… what would that even mean? Had he been killed, or had someone else usurped the role and suppressed him? 

Corvo and Emily feared that a second Delilah would rise and wreak havoc, if they haven't already. The days so far were peaceful, relatively speaking, and they were still recovering from the coup.

Unfortunately, the Isles had faced decades of chaos, only barely contained, and more years of uncertainty were certain to come.

~

The two stragglers had settled in an abandoned building overlooking the streets. Initially, Billie's plan was for them to go their separate ways after reaching Karnaca, but Silver had smiled and vetoed that idea.

_ "Wouldn't it be better if we stick together?" he had said. "I know these streets and its people like it's on the back of my hand. And I know you." He smirked. "Wouldn't it be nice to have a companion after so long?"  _

_ "I'm not interested in a teenage boy as a 'companion'." _

_ He laughed. He laughed for longer than expected. "You know what I mean. I know I'm not your type, but you wouldn't mind a roommate, would you?" _

So she let him stick around for at least a while longer.

In the past few weeks, she’d been taking on a few contracts for small jobs. Those didn’t pay as well, but they drew less attention to her. She was away often, taking more jobs since she had to start from scratch. Get a new boat.

Silver had expressed his desire to aid her in her work, much to her disapproval. Letting a teenage boy get caught up in all the dirty work she’d gotten herself irredeemably stuck in seemed irresponsible to her. She could do the work alone, and Silver knew how to scavenge for necessities in the streets. There was no need to drag him into this.

Of course, those reasons did nothing to stop him. Silver wasn’t just a teenage boy - he was a teenage boy who had once been the Outsider. He had seen more things than any man in the world, and knew more. All the gritty, the nasty, the grotesque. It was old news to him.

Worse for her, she had almost gotten herself into big trouble in her last job. If Silver hadn’t been there at the last minute to save her, who knows what would have happened to her in the end.

And thus, for her safety and to offer intelligence and guidance, Silver had finally convinced her to let him join in. 

It was natural for Billie to feel uneasy about it. His physical fitness had improved, but was nowhere near optimal. She trusted him to react more reasonably towards new sensations, but she couldn’t forget when he took his first bite of food - her treat, a hot, piping meal in a small pub.

_ ‘It’s even better than I remember,’ he said, his voice growing soft. ‘I’ve only had it in dreams. Not even my own. I only remembered how food was like to people when I saw into their hearts. To some, merely sustenance to keep them going, to others, a delectable sensation for the tongue, but there’s always this satisfaction. It’s been so long. I thought I’d never feel it again.’ _

_ Through his words, Billie realised that tears had welled up and were flowing freely on his stone-like face. _

_ “Oh, dear. Is he alright?” asked the cook, who happened to be around to witness this sight.  _

_ “He hasn’t had a hot meal in far too long,” Billie had explained simply, which was enough for the cook to offer him a few sympathetic pats. _

_ After watching over him for a while, Billie reached her arm out over to his shoulder, and she gripped it firmly. _

It had shaken her up more than she would have liked to admit.

"Get ready," she said, as they peered over at their target in the streets below. A truck passing by a quiet area. Billie had done the necessary diversions to lead the traffic into this part of town.

Silver made a low hum in response. Billie took a look at him and was earnestly surprised by what she saw.

To hide his identity, his face was covered up to his cheeks. His eyes, unusual and hazel as they were, were steely focused on their target. If there was any hesitation or fear, it did not show in his gaze. He had the look of a seasoned expert - not that he wasn't, having witnessed this countless times before.

Billie also recalled that he was a street urchin 4,000 years ago, just like her.

He looked up at her, tilted his head, then quickly looked back. "At your cue," he said.

And as she had many times before, she steeled her resolve.

"Go."

She leaped forth at the opportunity. Silver wasn't far behind. Though he struggled to match her pace, and certainly wasn't as light on his feet, he moved exactly where he should be. When she looked to ascertain his position, he was always there, ready to assist.

She was used to being a lieutenant, but not having one of her own. Having Silver around gave her an unexpected rush of comfort. She broke the lock with ease, and they grabbed a few crates before the driver came round to investigate.

Unfortunately for them, the deliverers were a little too well-prepared.

A shock of electricity was narrowly avoided by Billie, who pulled her accomplice to the side as well. Luckily, he seemed prepared, so he wasn't flung off.

Gunshots fired in their direction. Billie's mind raced for options, but before she could, the world undulated around her. Then, she was in a back alley, crates in hand.

"What?" she heard a gruff voice from round the corner.

"What's going on?" came another.

"The anti-theft went off. Thought I shot something, but turns out no one's there. Lock's busted, though."

"Huh. We better get outta here, then."

"Yeah, let's go."

She heard the sound of whirring fade into the distance. She looked around her, relieved to see Silver beside her, peeking around the corner to check.

"That was close," he said, looking back at Billie. His mouth wasn't visible, but she could see the smile from his eyes. "I didn't know you could still use your magic." 

Then, it hit her.

"That wasn't me."

The smiley sparkle in his eyes faded. "What?" 

"I haven't been able to use any magic since I got you out. My arm and eye still work, but not any of the powers I had. I thought that was you."

"But that would be-" Silver looked at his hands. "I couldn't- I… then… did I… I did try to teleport, but it was by instinct. It's what I always did."

Billie held his shoulders and looked him squarely in the eye. "Is the first time this happened?"

Silver blinked. "Yes. I have tried before. Never worked until just now."

"Must be something about this area," she mumbled. "Or something about… us?"

"Are you carrying anything related to Void magic on you?" 

Billie snorted. "Other than myself? I suppose I still have my bonecharms-"

She paused. Reaching under her coat, she touched her bonecharms and realised something.

~

Not that he was particularly proud of it, but Corvo enjoyed his peaceful nights sitting on his desk, next to a candle-light, writing a mish-mash of scribblings with a bottle of spirits. Tonight, he opted for something shittier than usual. He liked matching the quality of his liquor with the quality of his mood.

Memories of his dreams from the night before crept back up to him, and despite everything he let them flow through his mind again.

Fuzzy. The dream had become fuzzy, and it grew fuzzier every time it came back - usually in intervals of a few days. A boy, a face so familiar yet so unrecognisable, his house, his smile, his confession. It was always a little distorted at different sections each time, but it was the same, and never quite as vivid as the first one.

After spending so much time thinking about it, he had naturally figured out something strange about that first one.

That dream felt like all the other dreams he had in the Void, only far different aesthetically. It couldn't just be coincidence that he had dreamt something so bizarre the night before the Mark disappeared. The night the Outsider came to him, told him out of all people to build a shrine in the castle, out of all places - and so urgently, too - that couldn't be coincidence. The Outsider was the closest thing to omniscience that Corvo knew of, he had clearly  _ known _ something.

That was why it had been so urgent. He must have known he would disappear. Which didn't exactly explain the need for a shrine.

Which didn't at all explain what the Outsider had said to him.

_ "I love you," said the Outsider. "You know that, right?" _

'No, I don't,' he would have replied, if he hadn't been so stunned. 'In Void's name, I don't know what the hell you're talking about.'

Sure, he knew he favoured his Marked people. He liked interesting people, especially those on the brink of helplessness, someone who would do something significant with magical Void powers.

That certainly wasn't it, though.

It took a long time for it to register, but maybe, just perhaps, the Outsider had said it the way Corvo thought he had.

"I love you," said the boy in his dreams. Corvo couldn't recognise him, no. But he knew him.

It wasn't the same boy, but it was. The boy who was the Outsider.

Pieces of a jigsaw puzzle were laid out in front of Corvo. He knew it could be pieced together, but he couldn't. He didn't want to think about the picture it would form, or what it meant.

He didn't know how to feel. Right now, he just felt empty, but at the same time, not.

Emptiness was emptiness. Loss was loss. What he was feeling felt like there had been  _ something _ there - not something huge or striking, not as if the door of a house had been wrenched out - as if that  _ something _ was pulled out, and what it left behind was this.  _ That _ emptiness, that void.

_ I miss you. _

That something was probably locked away somewhere, hidden in the cellars, in a dusty corner somewhere. Despite it, it wasn't something insignificant.

_ I miss him. _

He used to think of his appearance as a bad omen. He was not cruel, but not benevolent. All-seeing and judgemental. A god no one could not help but fear or dislike a little. A god that was admired, but couldn't return their love.

Or could he?

_ I just want to see you again. _

Corvo just needed to know the boy was safe. How would he, though? There was no way to contact him, not unless…

No, the shrine in the castle wouldn't work anymore.

Would it?

_ I need to see you again. _

He didn't know what to think about the Outsider, but he knew one thing. He really, really liked the boy in his dreams. An almost petty desire, but one he couldn't put a finger on, and one that drove him to snuff out the candle, head out of his room and climbed to the hidden chamber to visit the shrine.

As he approached it, the purplish-blue glow started to fill his consciousness. That hadn't changed. Now when he looked at it, he could almost see the Outsider again, sitting on the altar with his arms crossed, just like last time.

Cocky, because he had the power that could justify it. Self-indulgent, because what higher power existed that he needed to indulge first? A youthful, sharp face, with eyes that held the weight of millenia. The collars that kept growing, which Corvo thought was obnoxious at first, until he realised they suited him very well.

He looked at the runes and bonecharms once more. The Outsider had shown him his whales once. He was so fond of the gentle creatures. These were artifacts from a long time past, the whalebone that connected their fates together and gave him strength.

He touched them gently, afraid that his present touch might taint that unimaginable past. He sucked in a deep breath.

Unlike ever before, they were warm to the touch, and vibrating ever so slightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay safe during this period!


	3. Hollows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fate brings them together again (though not very pleasantly).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your supportive comments!

The harbour was as busy as it had always been. Some ships were crowded with men unloading cargo, some stopped by and dropped passengers off. The air smelled of bay water, slightly salty, slightly pungent with unknown, but unmistakably water-like scents.

A man leaned against a post, nodding and smiling at the sailors that happened to chance upon him. He was the portly type, had grown a decent beard and donned fine clothes -- not too extravagant, but dressed more respectable than the typical boatman. He was standing near a small booth with a sign that read, "BOATS FOR SALE".

A young man, attired in regular slacks, walked through, pausing occasionally to look up at the sky, at the ships, and at the people. The boatman caught eyes with him for a brief moment. The young man smiled, walking closer to him. The man was about to greet him when he approached, but was surprised when the boy asked to purchase a boat.

"You're a bit young to be getting your own boat," he said, with a genial smile.

The boy shook his head. "I'm getting it with my old man. He had his own boat a long time ago, always wanted to be back on the seas, but had a family, you know? We'd always talk about how he'd bring me around, show me the ropes… Now we're grown up." He flashed a smile. "Even me."

"Sounds mighty sweet of you, lad. What're you lookin' for?" 

"Just a regular ship, for the nearby seas. A one-man ship's enough, better with room for two."

"Then I might just have the right ship for you. Ah, where are my manners? The name's Rowan. What's your name, lad?"

"Sam. Samuel Beechworth."

"'Aight, Sam, tell me if I spelled your name wrong." He scribbled it down in his logbook and showed it to him.

"That's correct."

"Great. Have a name for 'er yet?"

He nodded affirmatively. "The Shrouded Kite."

"Okay, the Shrouded Kite, right?"

"Yeap."

Rowan looked a little busy, sorting out all his stuff. He had a small chat with his customer the meantime.

"Anything you need fixing, Sam, long as she ain't a shipwreck yet, come to me. First time's free."

His face lit up. "Thank you, sir."

Rowan brought him to a part of the docks with all the ships. Thankfully, the boy wasn't too picky, and settled on one after checking the boat once over. Once all the formalities were in order, the boy suddenly had a boat to his name, and at a reasonable price, too.

It took them quite a while to save up for this, but it was worth it. With one of them an outlaw wanted by the Empire, and the other a rising figure increasing in notoriety, it was good to have somewhere mobile and hard to locate to stay.

After entering the ship, Billie took in a lungful of air and sighed. The boy had noticed her silent entry and smiled.

"Not bad, right?"

"Yeah. I'm impressed with your efficiency, Silv. Or should I say, Samuel Beechworth." She laughed, before thinking seriously about it. "It's a faintly familiar name."

Silver nodded. "I'm surprised it still rings a bell. You've probably met him once, or twice, twenty years ago now."

Billie shrugged.

"It doesn't matter, either way," he continued. "What matters is that if anyone decides to look at the records to find this ship, there are a few people who will realise what it means."

They headed up to the deck, walking around, just to really feel that this was his ship - that it was theirs. It was a humble boat, barely as big as the Dreadful Wale, but it was just what they needed.

"Shrouded Kite, huh?" she looked around and shook her head, smiling. "What a name."

"She was going to be called Shrouded Rite," he explained, "but it's not a name for a boat, and I have a feeling it'll invite unwanted attention from the Abbey."

"Hah, what are they gonna do? Beat us up?" Billie cackled. "They can't do shit anymore. Still, Shrouded Kite is the cooler name."

"Thank you, I was hoping you'd approve of it." Silver smiled at her, though his eyes betrayed a cheeky glint. "After all, I was inspired by none other than the late Dreadful Wale. Though I did add an extra D, and I had to change the R to a K. Ah, at least they look similar on paper." 

Billie narrowed her eyes at him as she registered what he said. "An anagram?"

"Yeap."

She paused for thought. "Shrouded Rite, without an… oh- oh, of course." She had to laugh. "The Outsider."

"Given the extra D for Death, it's more like The Outsider's Death," said Silver, tongue-in-cheek.

"That suddenly got dark."

"It's my version of a farewell," he said airily, putting his lips to the cool breeze like he was kissing the winds goodbye. "Let's get her ready."

At that, Billie nodded, but she couldn't hide the uneasiness that welled up from within. She hauled a few bags into the cabin, in one of them a nautical map of the Isles and its seas.

It had been a good few years since she had properly touched these materials. She was no newbie, but the experience was fresh for her too.

Gingerly, she brought a finger forward and rested the tip on the capital of Gristol.

"Dunwall," she said softly to herself. "Somehow, I always go back to you."

_ ‘Even though I promised to stay away, I can't not go this time. I'm sorry, Emily. If you can find the heart to forgive me again…’ _

She closed her eyes. Her heart and mind simmered in turmoil.

~

It'd been around three to four years since the disappearance of the Outsider's Mark, and the Empire seemed to continue as per normal, save for a bit of chaos. Emily was worried by it, but was assured that it was within her expectations - being in recovery, the Isles were always a little more unprepared for unexpected events.

As she poured over documents and royal matters, Corvo entered and stood by her side. It pained her to think about the day her father would inevitably retire, and she'd have to appoint another Royal Protector --  _ and _ Spymaster. That was for future Emily to worry about, though.

"There's been an unusually high number of strange occurrences in Serkonos," she said out loud, turning to Corvo. "Doesn't that bother you?" 

"They haven't been too extreme, at the very least," he said mildly. "So far, no one's been assassinated."

"That's one good news," she said. "And then there have been notable families being exposed for, let's see, money laundering, abuse of staff or servants, exposed affairs… just to name a few. I suppose that isn't bad news, either. But in the past few years, vaults being broken into, stolen artifacts and the like. Luckily, it's cooling down."

Corvo shook his head. "It's never that simple, Emily. I think you know what I'm thinking."

She looked up. "The vigilante."

He nodded. "There hasn't been any of these unusual cases in the past few months, right? According to my sources, there's someone else who also hasn't been sighted in Karnaca for the past few months."

"Don't tell me." Emily arranged her documents in a neat pile, before standing up and looking him in the eye.

"Silver Lurk can't be located?"

Corvo nodded.

They were someone who had rose to infamy so suddenly, wanted by nobles whom they must have offended greatly. The bounties were no small sum.

No organisation they belonged to, only allies, who identified them by their silvery green eyes. Birthplace, unknown. Gender, unknown. They were androgynous in the mask, hood and coat. Reports showed that those who had heard their voice still couldn't determine their accent, or their sex.

_ "Given the last name," Emily had said one time, "probably a she." _

Most likely, an alias. Someone capable, inspired by the infamous Billie Lurk, deciding to take on her last name. Possibly, but probably not her child, Silver Lurk reportedly had pale skin. Perhaps even romantic partner?

_ "In that case, almost definitely a she." _

Not that it mattered. What mattered was that the disappearance of Silver Lurk was further proof of their involvement in the vigilante efforts. That, however, also meant that a potentially dangerous figure they had been keeping a close eye on was suddenly missing.

"Perhaps she's not even in Karnaca anymore," said Emily. "Not even Serkonos. If she really does idolise Billie Lurk, she could be anywhere. Perhaps even beyond the Isles."

"It would be reassuring if she didn't want anything else to do with the Isles," said Corvo, sighing. "I'll let you know if I learn anything else."

~

Silver looked out at the Dunwall docks appearing in the distance. For the most part, he was silent. He gazed past the nearby buildings, the castle, and into somewhere far, far away.

"Wait, there's one right there," said Billie, pointing in the direction of the docks. "Can you see it?"

For Billie, seeing was quite literal with the piece of the Eye. For Silver, it was more of a gut instinct, and a dull ache.

He clenched his fists. "Yes."

Floating on the waters, just a bit away from the docks, a strange shimmery static buzzed on the surface.

"Take the wheel," said Billie. "I'll try to get as close to it as possible."

"Won't it be strange if we stop so suddenly in front of the docks?"

"Then just slow it down. Make sure you stay away from it." Billie had already begun taking off her coat. "I'll get to it directly." 

Billie stripped down to her undergarments. Silver looked away respectfully, though that just caused Billie to roll her eyes. She grabbed a rope from the side, tied one end to the side of the deck, then took a deep breath and jumped.

She landed with a sloshing splash. The water was cold enough to knock all the air out of her lungs, but not unbearably so. Quickly, she regained her bearings, and swam towards the abnormality.

Her right arm materialised into the twin-bladed knife. With it, she entered the strange, shimmery world.

Something unfurled within her and around her. She was on a boat - not the Shrouded Kite, but another, much bigger, but completely foreign ship. The smell of chaos reverberated all around, and from one corner, she could hear the fear in someone's heart.

She turned towards the source. At the edge of the boat, time seemed to slow down. There had been a cacophony of men, and in the midst of it, a young man was looking over the edge, his hand outreached. He was holding an arm that belonged to someone hanging off the ship - a man with the captain's uniform.

Billie could see the futures that could have occured. The man releases the captain, sending him to the sea, or he takes out his cutlass and slices the captain's neck.

The presence of this hole in reality, a Hollow, was bound in place by the dichotomy of choice. It was Billie's job to prune them, patch them up, or else the tears would accumulate far too much for reality to bear, and when that happened…

She simply had to choose one path, but even that was proving tricky. She didn't know the context. Maybe it had been an accident, and the young lad didn't have the strength to pull him up. This close to the docks, it was easy for the captain to swim to shore.

Or, the captain could have been a tyrannical, abusive prick, or the young man could have been a manipulative bastard who wanted to gain control of the ship. Usually, she would pick the choice that adhered to her current reality, but she knew nothing about this incident.

The ex-Outsider would have known the context. If he had been here, Billie could at least by privy to listen and commence the 'judgement'. But the last time Silver tried to help her with this, he had nearly died. No way she was risking that again.

Eventually, she came to a decision.

'I'd rather save a life that was doomed to death than end the life of someone who was spared.'

With that, she focused her vision onto the two branches. Then, she aimed her blade at the root of one branch, cutting it away. Blood spilled from the cut, but then all of it fizzled away, and Billie felt the familiar sense of being pushed out.

She was afloat on the water, and the Hollow had been sewn shut.

Billie retracted her blade. She looked around and saw the Shrouded Kite had already caught up, if not a little closer to the docks than she was. She swam back, climbed the rope, and pulled herself up onto dry flooring.

"Good job," said Silver, with a grin.

…such genuine encouragement from the boy who used to be the Void god still needed more time to get used to.

"Thanks," she replied, tired already. Not physically, but somewhere within her soul. Sighing, she tried to get back up, but then gave up. "I'll, I'll be ready in a moment. Let me dry up."

So she laid there under the afternoon sun, until they were starting to get close to other boats. She got up, put her clothes back on and took the wheel. Soon, their boat had been docked, and the two were now back on land.

"I still think this isn't a good idea," said Billie, raising her voice a little to be heard above the bustling crowd. "Are you sure it's all still in the castle? They could have sold it all off in the black market."

Silver's face wrinkled. "I'm not saying that's not possible, but it's unlikely. They've collected a  _ lot _ . We would have heard if they sold off a huge collection in such a short period of time. And I highly doubt that they're tight on money."

"You never know for sure."

"Yeah, not anymore." Silver's eyes twinkled. Billie felt her charms warm up, and then they had teleported away into a building, avoiding the guards ahead. "Either way, we have other business to settle here. I hope the Hollows here aren't too bad."

Since they were on the topic of black markets, they sneaked around to see if there were any charms or whalebone being circulated. Silver managed to score two things, a rune and a charm. By then, he had changed into his usual spelunking outfit, with the coat, hood and cloth masking most of his face. The shopkeeper seemed to have recognised him, mouth open in slight surprise, but otherwise treated him as one of their ordinary customers - who, by the way, were never all that ordinary.

"They haven't been used," Silver said to Billie, once they were out of earshot. 

"Good," said Billie. "If anyone else was able to use it, we need to be very alarmed."

Silver chuckled. "Not even  _ slightly _ by the magically-inclined, though. It hasn't been touched in the past few years."

Billie nodded. She recalled from Silver's long explanation a while back that those with a closer relationship to the Void than others could still channel some energy in the charms and runes. They couldn't use them to activate their powers, though, not like how Silver could. 

_ "I figured it out," he had told her. "When I gave people my mark, I was connecting them to the Void through me. I was like a conduit. I was the closest thing to the Void, and my name was the closest thing they'd have to me. It was terribly unpleasant, it was like becoming whale oil and burning myself constantly, but it's not like that would kill me. Wasn't any better than complete numbness either… _

_ "Anyway, that's why the cult had to have the face of the Void be human. To see a tangible symbol that they could pray to, one that they could utilise. But I already know the Void, I was once synonymous with it, I saw it in its entirety. I didn't need a conduit, but I had no power source. But, there's a source more ancient than I am." He lifted the bonecharm in his hand, fiddling with it. "Whales have mysterious power." _

Billie pulled herself out of her reverie. There was something terribly wrong. She stopped and stared into the distance, something like horror or shock filling her gaze.

Silver noticed and tapped her lightly. "What's wrong?" 

"The castle," she said, softly, causing Silver to turn and look at it too.

"Do you see it, Silv? It's… it's engulfed in Hollows."

~

"It's not safe," Silver pleaded. "You'd have to go right up to them, and-" 

"And you'd think I'll risk you dying for a couple of runes? Think, Silv. Without you, getting the whalebone would be useless."

Silver shut his mouth. She was right.

"But," he blurted out, "We could search elsewhere first."

Billie's expression was grave. "I still need to clear out the Hollows before it gets even worse. I don't see another way of getting into the castle without being shot on sight."

Silver closed his eyes. "Let me at least bring you up to the windows."

Billie hesitated, but nodded. She needed all the help she could get.

Under the cover of the night, they sneaked past the guards. Quietly, they teleported from windowsill to windowsill, until they reached an empty-looking study. There was a Hollow visible through the door.

Silver recognised it as the place Emily had been held in when the coup happened, all those years ago.

"Be careful," he whispered.

Billie let out a low laugh. "No, I'll be sure to be as loud as humanly possible."

Even Silver had to crack a smile at that.

"Wish me luck."

The Hollow undulated near the door, but outside it in the corridor. Billie opened the door as quietly as she could, then conjured the knife and entered the deep underbelly of reality itself.

She saw Emily with Corvo's blade in hand, locked in combat with Mortimer Ramsey. Billie saw the realities that split apart evenly, causing instability. One with Emily killing him, and the other with her restraining her desire to end him, knocking him out instead.

It didn't take long for Billie to decide. Knowing Emily's nature was enough, but she also knew that Mortimer Ramsey was still alive. With a decisive cut, she snapped that branch off, and the hole in the world had collapsed into a small scar.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a guard heading up the stairs. She leaped out of the way, hiding in a corner of the room.

The guard came closer. His footsteps stopped for a moment. Then, he continued, and then shut the door. When Billie was sure he'd moved on, she quietly opened the door again and left without closing.  _ 'Then they'll think the door doesn't close properly anymore.' _

With that, she headed for the other targets. In that manner, she cleared out a couple more Hollows, but it was merely a dent in the rust. Still, she had to be patient. Her priority was to clear a path up to the hidden chamber, where the runes and bonecharms were kept.

Then, Corvo appeared.

He had come up from the stairs below and looked around, nodding politely at the guards who passed by.

Billie hid behind a wall, her heart pounding. Quickly, she retreated into a room, where she noticed another Hollow had taken residence in there. 

Then, he came face to face with the Empress, who sat at the desk with maps sprawled on the surface.

She looked up, calmly, probably expecting Corvo to be there.  _ That's why he was heading upstairs, wasn't he? _ Billie realised.

Emily pulled out a gun and aimed it at her forehead.

Billie had braced herself, but the shot never came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhangers are always so frustrating, so why do I still do them :')


	4. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The unpleasantness lingers, unfortunately. But there may be a hint of...?

"Billie Lurk?"

Her voice was hushed, incredulous. Then her expression quickly soured. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"It's…" She sucked in a deep breath, regaining her composure. "It's complicated-"

"What's that red glass on your eye? And your arm… Oh, Void." She trembled. "I thought I changed the past. You had them back. How did it happen again?"

Billie smiled sadly. "The Outsider took it from me. And he gave this in return."

"The- when did that happen?" 

"Years ago."

She wasn't too surprised to learn that Emily could see the Void artifacts. She was a little taken aback when Emily's blank, bewildered face changed into a deep scowl.

"I'm sorry," Billie said quickly, "I didn't want to have to come back, but Emily, we need to-"

"Who are you?"

Billie didn't have to turn around to recognise that voice. She could hear a crossbow being handled, aimed at her from the side. She didn't want to show her face, though Corvo had probably already seen it. It was on the walls of all the wanted posters, a huge bounty for her head.

"Emily, listen to me," she said. "The castle's in great danger. The Void has become unstable, it's taking over the castle. The Hollows, holes in the world, are everywhere. I need to destroy them."

"So why are you in the study room of the Empress?" Corvo growled. "Why would this 'great danger' and 'Hollows' be so conveniently in here?"

"I don't know for sure. But from what I've seen, it's because the castle's a hotspot for supernatural activity."

Corvo narrowed his eyes. "This supernatural activity you're speaking of hasn't happened."

"Not in the past few years, no," she said. "But before that. When you had your powers."

The room went silent.

"So you know." Corvo's tone was unreadable.

Billie tilted her head back slightly to look at him.

"I know of the Outsider's Mark," she said. "And I know there had been a lot of scuffles in the castles related to him and his mark, because I see them in the hollows. You must have felt something was wrong. Reality bending slightly, at the least opportune times."

The silence from both of them indicated that she was right.

"That's going to worsen if I don't do anything about it." 

"What you're, uh, ‘holding’," Emily interjected, voice soft but audible for all to hear. "That's the twin-bladed knife, isn't it?"

Billie went quiet. "Yes. Yes, it is."

"You stole it from the vault," said Corvo. "You were behind the break-in."

"...yes. That was me.”

"And for what?" Emily's eyes grew dark. "Why would you go through all that trouble for a knife that could even slay a god?"

"I think it’s obvious.” Corvo's voice became inexplicably grave. "She killed the Outsider."

Billie found herself at a loss for words. "I didn't," she said, though the looks on their faces told her they didn't believe her. "I-" 

"He took your arm and eye," said Emily, her voice cold. "So you plotted to get back at him. Somehow, you found out how. And now his mark is gone, the Void is out of control, and reality is suffering from it."

"No, you don't get it. It didn't happen! I…"

It was as if Corvo's eyes had been glazed over with frozen steel. They said,  _ you're the cause of the Void engulfing the castle _ .

_ No more second chances.  _

He pulled the trigger. He saw the bolt catapult into the air. Then… 

Then?

Corvo had the strangest feeling that something was off. 

The window was open. From the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow swoop in and grab the bolt mid-air. Then, he could finally move, and there was someone standing in front of Billie, whose hand was holding the bolt he fired, the other hand outstretched, a compressed orb of wind churning within.

“Stop,” said the figure, whose voice sounded strangely familiar to Corvo. “Listen to her.”

There was clear panic in Billie’s eyes.

“Silver,” she exhaled with extreme urgency. “The Hollows-”

She broke into a sprint, aiming for the other end of the room.

“Stop!” Emily’s voice rang clear in the tepid air. She readjusted her aim, keeping it focused on her. Billie looked at the nozzle, looked at the hole in the world, at Silver, and back again. She stood still, stuck in a deadlock.

Corvo noticed the masked figure’s green-blue eyes. Quickly, he came to a conclusion. Silver Lurk could wield magic when no one else could.

“Explain yourself.” He did not break their eye contact. “What do you want? How do you still have your powers?”

There was an instant where emotion seemed to stir in those eyes, before they became unreadable again. “It’s difficult to explain quickly. I know we intruded, so I understand if you don’t trust us, but we aren’t here to harm you. Since it has come to this-”

He cut off his speech with a groan. He reached a hand to his cloth mask, but then his body jolted, curling slightly, trembling from pain. Near his eyes, strange grey cracks began to form.

“Silver!”

As the cracks grew, the groaning became cries of pain.

Seeing that Emily was distracted, Billie had no time to waste. She sprinted towards the Hollow with reckless abandon, plunging the knife into it -

She entered the surreal, void-like space yet again. It made her especially nauseous this time, but she fought it down. She tried to make sense of the scenes that unfolded beneath her as best as she could, but it kept warping out of control, sending psychedelic waves into her vision.

It took a few seconds, but she eventually saw a small room filled with four figures. Looking closer, she made a startling realisation. One of them was Emily, another one was Corvo, and the other two were Silver and herself. Silver kneeled on the ground, clutching his face. Billie could feel the click of the gun, the crank of the crossbow, and they rippled towards Silver…

_ No, no, no… _ Her head was swarmed with panic and grief. She looked, terrified, at the alternate branch. Silver’s face was locked into a scream, and he let out a shattering hurricane, smashing the windows, hurling and slashing everything around. Billie narrowly escaped, but she saw Emily crushed under the weight of her own desk, and Corvo flung out of the window.

This wasn’t the past. This was the future - no, the present. It was different when it involved her situation so intimately, it felt  _ too  _ personal, pulling her mind to frays.

Neither ending was pleasant, but Billie already knew which one to pick. She would have loathed to admit it, but she would do anything to protect Silver.

“No!” Silver’s scream pierced through from an unknown place, and Billie quickly realised that it was not from the Hollow. She turned around, and she saw the situation she had left, frozen in space and time. Somehow, though, she could feel them staring at her, even beyond her.

“Billie,” pleaded Silver. His mouth hadn’t moved, but she could hear his voice still. “I can’t- We can’t let them die, the chaos would… please…”

He was asking her to do the impossible. Billie was going to save him regardless. Then, looking back at the scene, something in her brain suddenly clicked.

One, two, three…

This Hollow had three realities, intersecting at one point. She noticed Silver’s hand again, grasping at his mask. Quickly, she ripped a hole in her reality and flung herself forward.

She crashed into Silver, causing him to topple to the side. Corvo and Emily, who were still recovering from what they saw in the Hollow, had stopped in utter bewilderment.

With a forceful tug, she ripped the cloth off his face.

A few seconds passed. Two pairs of eyes widened in fear and shock.

Billie looked at the Hollow, which did a weird glitchy movement and eventually collapsed into itself. At that moment, the strange stone covering Silver’s face shattered. He could barely hold himself up, but he finally had a chance to catch his breath, heavily.

“You,” said Emily, before stopping abruptly. “You’re-”

“Not dead?” he replied, in between quick breaths. “Nearly was.” He sat up, then lifted himself into a squat. “I was supposed to die, but Billie saved me. She’s the only family I have, so I would appreciate it greatly if you would put down your weapons and  _ listen to her for once.” _

The gun fell to the ground. With shaking hands, Corvo lowered his crossbow.

Silver stood up and dusted himself off. “Good. We all made it out alive, somehow. Now, let’s sit down and talk. Please.”

~

In the room, there were two sofas placed on opposite sides of a small coffee table. Emily and Corvo sat on one side, Billie and Silver on the other. Only Emily and Silver were making eye contact -- Billie, on the other hand, looked away, avoiding anyone's gazes, and Corvo looked straight down, fists clenched.

"You're alive," said Emily, slowly. "And you're human now?

Silver nodded. "You weren't wrong, really. The Outsider is no more. The Void no longer has a human face, or a human name. That's why my Mark has disappeared."

"Because the Mark connected us to you?" asked Emily.

"And I was connected to the Void. All the old gods who came before me did that, but they weren't fully human like me. Impossible, you'd think. But the cult found a way. They used my name."

Emily looked at him intently. "What do you mean?"

It was Billie who answered. "The Cult of the Outsider used the twin-bladed knife to cut away his name. It could then only exist in the language of the dead. That name, spelled in runes, was the Outsider's Mark."

"When my name was returned to me, I was set free. That's why the Marks are no more. They are now mine again."

Corvo looked up for a moment, before looking back down. "Glad you have it back. Sounds… uh… tough."

"Your name is Silver?" asked Emily.

He shook his head. "No, Silver is an alias. Though, it's more my name than the original one ever was."

"I can't believe we never figured it out," said Corvo. "We had suspected the vigilante could wield magic, but not… not like this. How did I not link the two together?" 

"Must have been the green eyes," said Silver amusedly. For a moment they made eye contact, and then Silver turned to look at Emily again.

"Out of everything we could use to identify you, Silver," she said, "your eye colour was not one of them."

Even Billie couldn't resist a smile.

"I wanted to keep my identity secret, especially from those who knew me. I'm mortal now, and I can't see what I used to see. I wanted to live like any other human in my position would. Unfortunately, the Void isn't too happy that I left."

"Explaining all these, uh, Hollows?"

He nodded. "Delilah's rebirth caused the Void to become damaged. Of course, losing me caused a huge backlash as well. That, by the way, caused the Cult of the Outsider to vanish overnight."

"Wait," interrupted Corvo, "Delilah's  _ rebirth?" _

Silver smiled sadly. "I saw her treading on the path of no return. That was where Daud and Billie stepped in and killed her. Turns out that wasn't enough, though."

This piece of news was ground-breaking for the other two. They sat back and processed it. Meanwhile, Billie folded her arms, her face covered in shame.

"Why'd you give me credit for that?" Billie muttered to Silver so that only he could hear it. He responded with a knowing smile.

"When did that happen?" asked Corvo, face in his hands.

"Emily was about sixteen then, I believe."

"Oh, Void." If Delilah had successfully carried out her plans that soon…

That meant Daud had saved them without them even knowing.

"Where is he now?" asked Emily.

Billie cleared her throat. "He passed from old age."

Corvo let out a sigh. At the very least, he was finally dead. He was relieved, not just for himself but for Daud as well.

"I hope that means you can take down the bounty for his head," Silver noted. "Even if you want his body, it's all ashes, now. And if you want his soul, it has already departed for another world. If it brings any comfort, it means he has left in peace."

Emily's sour expression came back. "At least one person left in peace."

"It wasn't easy for him," Billie snapped. "He was  _ ridden _ with guilt for the rest of his life."

"He wanted me dead," said Silver, cutting off their heated exchange. "Sent Billie to kill me. In the end, the ghost who read my name and gave it back to me? It was him. He learned a lot from you, Corvo, when you spared him."

The air inside the room grew stuffy and still.

"Anyway, he's dead, having a bounty up for a dead person doesn't do any good. Also, I still haven't finished explaining the Hollows." He sat back upright, looking at the two of them directly. He couldn't make them forgive anyone, but he had to at least settle the facts.

After a few quiet seconds, he continued.

"The backlash on the Void was significant. But more importantly, the Void itself keeps growing. I was there to siphon it out. Now without the Marked to exhaust it…"

"It's leaking out into reality," finished Emily. "It's causing things to destabilise."

"You could put it that way," said Silver. "The twin-bladed knife is able to seal the tears in reality. That's one aspect. The other thing I've discovered is in the bonecharms and runes I've made you collect and create." He took out his own set.

"Firstly, with these, I'm able to wield the powers you once had. Secondly, the Void will rush to refill them with energy before anything else. So, I'll have to drain them periodically. I know you have a Shrine in here with all the charms and runes you have. Then there was the unusual amount of Hollows. That's why we're here."

Corvo closed his eyes. "So you need to collect them."

"And clear the Hollows, yes."

"Okay," said Emily. "Okay, I think I get it. We'll bring them to you as soon as possible."

"No," Corvo rebutted, "it's safer if they just go up to the room in person."

"Yes, of course." Emily was shaking faintly, but she resolved to keep it under control. "Corvo, lead the way."

~

Silver kneeled in front of the Shrine (which was a little weird to see, the Outsider kneeling at his own shrine). His eyes half-open in a soft gaze, he positioned his hands at his sides. Billie saw them faintly glow.

"That," he said, looking back at them, "is something I haven't experienced since I was the Void."

"Is it really that potent?" asked Emily.

"Not really. The Void is practically boundless. This… it's not bad. At least I can actually use it." He looked towards Billie. "I have an idea."

Billie widened her eyes. "What is it?"

"I can stop time for you, as long as you're within the castle. You could possibly clear out most of the Hollows this way without being spotted."

She looked towards Emily, who appeared slightly troubled. "How long can you do it for?" she asked.

"About ten minutes," he replied. "It's not too long, but it's better than nothing. I'll warn you when time's running out. You'll see objects beyond your reach beginning to move."

Billie summoned her knife and breathed in one, long breath. She had already made her decision, but the nerves were still getting to her.

"Alright, on your mark."

"Okay." She saw a soft glow growing harsh. "Three, two, one…"

A few seconds later, Billie re-entered the room, holding the wall for support. She gave Silver a thumbs-up.

"Empress, your castle is safe for now."

~

The next day, it was like a weight was lifted off the shoulders of the entire building. Everyone went about their day with a spring in their steps, feeling lighter. Of course, most attributed it to the peaceful night's sleep they had, and they weren't entirely wrong. The Hollows had interfered with their dreams, making them twisted and draining. After they were resolved, the mood was better than ever.

Only Corvo had a pensive gait all day, till night. At eleven, he left the castle without a word.

_ "Find the Tired House Pub," said the man who was once the Outsider. "I'll be there at midnight, upper floor. Enter by the balcony." _

They had left so soon, and Corvo still had so many questions locked up in his head. A part of him knew that it was his job to keep track of those two, so he needed to establish some means of communication. The other part of him was bugged by something else.

Something that had been stuck in his mind for years, now. 

He walked through the streets at night. In an ordinary coat, he could barely be recognised, even when he asked for directions. Eventually, he ended up at the backdoor of the Tired House.

He looked up and around. When nobody was looking, he climbed a nearby wall, then pulled himself up to the roof. He kept his body close to the surface and crawled, dropping down on the only balcony.

The curtains were drawn. Corvo saw, in the dim light inside, Silver sat upon a padded chair, lost in thought. He noticed Corvo there and gestured at him to come in.

He opened the door and stepped inside.

"Hello, Corvo," said Silver. "Take a seat."

Corvo shook his head and remained standing. "Hey."

"What did you want to ask me about?" asked Silver. "If you want to know about the gritty secrets of Gristol, you'll have to wait. The information I have is a few years outdated. Serkonos, though, I'm more familiar with."

"It's alright. If you learn of anything, inform me. You know how to deliver it to me."

Silver smiled. "The method hasn't changed, right?" 

Corvo shook his head again. After a pause, he asked his question.

"How was it like, being the Outsider?"

Silver was silent for a long while. Corvo almost thought he wouldn't reply. 

"Imagine being a scared young boy, having woken up from a nightmare to enter another one. Your vision has expanded a thousandfold, and you can see into the hearts of people, into the endless possibilities of the future. You have an immense power that controls you. You are feared and revered by men, but you're still a scared young boy whose heart is only human. It's… it's a feeling beyond words."

His stare was so intense that Corvo had to look away.

"That's insane," Corvo managed a reply. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Silver shrugged. "Part of being an ancient being, I guess." He tapped on the armrest and looked to the side. Corvo guessed that he was nervous. Why?

"I want to ask you about the dream."

Silver did not look up. "The dream?"

"The night you uh, 'disappeared'."

He still did not look up.

"When you asked me to build the shrine," Corvo continued, "you knew you were running out of time, right? That's why you needed it so soon, at such short notice."

"I wanted to tell you a few days earlier," said Silver, "but I couldn't reach you. You were awake for days."

_ Oh, right. _

"Why did you want me to build it? I… know there could be many reasons. Maybe it increased your chances of surviving whatever that was going to come. Maybe you anticipated this and prepared for it. But that doesn't explain the dream."

He waited for a response, but got none.

"It wasn't an ordinary dream," he continued, "it was so vivid, and I kept dreaming about it for months -- actually dreaming, but only the ones after. And that boy… that was you, wasn't it?"

Finally, Silver sighed.

"At that point, I knew with almost absolute certainty that the Outsider would be no more. It was a last ditch effort. The Shrine allowed me to focus my power in the nearby area more acutely, more effectively. And you're right. I pulled you into the Void, and I altered the surroundings to match the one hidden inside your heart." He kept tapping. "I suppose you remember most of it."

Corvo grunted.

"I remember it too," Silver continued. "It was interesting that you find someone like me... even mildly attractive."

"Then, what about what you said? After I, uh, told you my feelings-" 

Silver slammed his palm against the armrest.

"Haven't I told you already?" His words were pointed, aggressive despite an even voice. "Do you really need me to say it again?"

Corvo almost didn’t see it, but Silver's face had turned a faint, rosy red. He had seen it in his dream, the same flustered, embarrassed face. He had found it extremely endearing then, but seeing it in person was on another level.

"You meant it?"

Silver did not respond.

"Silver. If you're alright with me using that name. I keep thinking about that moment. It's burned into my mind, and every time I think about it, it's like, it's like I feel it again. If what you said was true…"

"No." Silver's eyes burned like blue flames. "I don't think you understand. I'm, I'm not who you think I am."

He held a fist to his chest, his gaze still barely fixed on Corvo.

"I used you. Don’t you see?" 

When he saw Corvo's face remain blank and unchanging, he punched his chair in frustration.

"I know you. I know you too well. I know what you like and I used that. I made myself appear that way. I just wanted... I just... it was for my own selfish fantasies. I didn't even care if it was really me." He laughed sadly. "That's all in the past now. I can't... I can't undo it, I'm sorry."

"But what about now?" asked Corvo, voice restrained. "I'm not talking about four years ago. What about you? What do you feel now?"

Silver shook his head. "That's not relevant."

"How is it not relevant?" 

He stood up and turned around, looking towards the door.

"Because I'm no longer the Outsider," he said. "Now I'm just a boy who's living with all that he's got. Dealing with problems bigger than himself."

He paused for a bit.

"...please, leave me alone. I don’t have the luxury to involve myself with a taken man."

He had said it softly, almost to himself, but Corvo heard it. It was as if a string inside his chest had been pulled taut.

Silver looked back at him with a smile. It was a beautiful smile, but it was one that hurt Corvo as much as it must have hurt himself. Then he started walking, picking up the pace quickly.

"Wait," said Corvo, stepping forward. "What do you mean, taken? I'll, I can wait, just..."

Silver stopped walking.

"How long do you need?" asked Corvo. "Will you be here tomorrow?"

Silver looked back and stared at him, as if trying to read something in his face.

“Perhaps that will be sufficient to settle our thoughts.”

Then, he turned around. A second later, he vanished. Corvo let him leave - partially for his sake, and partially for his own. His arms hung limply at his side.

From beside him, the balcony door slowly creaked open. Behind stood Emily, who looked at him carefully.

Corvo took one look at her and facepalmed.

"Dad," she started. "Do you want to talk?"


	5. Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get sorted out in the end, as most things are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important warning for Sexy Times™ at the end of the chapter. For those who don’t want to read it, I’ll tag the beginning with a ~*~. Even if you miss it though, it honestly isn’t too explicit, especially at the start. It’ll become quite obvious when you’re heading down the path of no return. Anyway, enjoy!

No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't bring himself to be angry at Emily.

"Why did you follow me here?!"

Maybe just a little exasperated.

"You were acting strangely today," she replied, hands on her hips. "I wasn't the only one who noticed, either. So I kept watch. And why wouldn't you tell me you were heading out?" She squinted. "It was immediately obvious that this meeting with Silver was not just business. Of course, I'd give you two some privacy if necessary, I'd hate to be a voyeur, but it looks like it didn't turn out too well."

Corvo sighed. The hand that had been on his face slid down to his bearded neck. "How much did you hear?"

"Not much, actually, the balcony doors were decently sound-insulated. Hehe," she let out a cheeky grin, "I thought that was a little too coincidental."

He groaned. "Why are you assuming there's something going on between us?"

"Well, the Out- Silver looked pretty worked up just now. He was obviously embarrassed, so I thought maybe you tried to flirt with him, then maybe you got rejected; though I feel like it wouldn't be because he doesn't like you. He's quite fond of you, in fact."

He groaned again. "How do you know that?"

"Body language," she said simply. "Couldn't you tell?"

"I… I wasn't sure," he replied vaguely.

"Ah, so you  _ were _ trying to court him!"

"Hey, hold on, it's not like that. It's…"

Emily folded her arms. "Complicated?"

Corvo nodded.

"Do you at least know why he walked away? Did he reject you outright?"

"Not really," he said slowly, "to both questions. He… actually admitted that he liked me, which is crazy."

"Tell me about it," said Emily, letting out a sigh.

"I don't get it. For some reason, he treats it like it doesn't mean anything. Why? He even mentioned something about me being a taken man?"

"Taken?" Emily was astounded. "You don't happen to have any secret lovers I don't know about?"

"No, I don't! That's what bothers me! How in Void's name did he conclude that I was taken? I thought, maybe a misunderstanding, right? But we're talking about the Outsider, here. Unless he heard false rumours about me while in Serkonos?"

Emily thought about it for a while. Then, she shook her head. "Assuming the Outsi- damn it, I keep forgetting - assuming Silver knows you've been single for decades now, I think I know what he's talking about."

"Really? What is it?"

Emily looked at him squarely in the eyes, watching his expression for any changes. She eventually concluded that Corvo really seemed clueless about it all. Then, she paced around, took in a deep breath and let it out.

"You haven't really… gotten over mother, have you?"

Corvo paused. Now that he truly thought about it, he realised that he couldn't answer no. It wasn't the same heart-wrenching grief as before, but it was perhaps because it had been. Jessamine was still seated on the throne in his heart, preserved as it was, never touched and never moved.

"I get it, I really do," Emily continued. "I know how much she means to you, to both of us. But this part of you is one that the Outsider could see all too clearly. Am I wrong?"

Corvo had a face of incomprehension.

"Dad," she said, grabbing his shoulders gently. "She's still in your heart after so long. That special someone, right? Thing is, Silver knows. He probably felt it himself. I know you never cared for technicalities, you follow your heart and love no matter what. He… probably feels he can't take a throne that already belongs to someone else. I think that's what he means by taken."

He furrowed his brows.

"But I like him," he said. Emily wanted to knock the back of her hand against her forehead.

_ Dad, sometimes loving too simply can be a bad thing…  _

"Look at it this way. In love, people don't want to be in second place. Who would want to date someone who's hung up on somebody else? In this case, I agree with him."

It stung a little, but Corvo knew she had a point.

"Though, I never expected him to be such a lover type," she noted, mostly to herself. "I mean, why pass up the opportunity to be with someone you like, right? Ah, to preserve a dream in favour of a moment's passion fulfilled. Poor Silver, what a hopeless romantic."

Corvo had a wry smile.  _ 'You're one to talk.' _

"So, in short, if you really want to win him over," said Emily very seriously, "you're going to have to convince him that you won't treat him like a second-rate bed warmer."

Corvo felt like her interpretation was a little off. It also seemed mostly accurate, though.

"You  _ are  _ still meeting him, right?"

Corvo nodded distractedly. "I think he's coming back here tomorrow. I think. He didn't confirm it, but I think he meant yes."

"Good." Emily leaped at him and gave him a tight squeeze. "You'll be fine, Dad. You deserve it. Mother would be so happy for you, I just know it."

Corvo couldn't stay annoyed at her for even a second longer. He hugged back, wishing he could hold her and feel warm like this forever.

~

Evening fell the next day. Darkness seeped through the windows of the Lurks' humble abode. Silver was cooking for the both of them, though he barely paid attention to the food. Instead, he kept looking up at the walls, even the ceiling, lost in thought.

"Billie," he called out to her. "I'll be heading to the Tired House tonight."

"Again?" Billie thought for a while. "Corvo Attano?"

"Yes," was the lacklustre reply.

"What happened? Is he trying to court you or something?" 

Silver nearly spilled his cooking.

"How do you know that?" he sputtered.

"Wait, really?" Billie covered her smile. "Hah, you just seem exceptionally distracted today. Besides, why meet up two nights in a row? Not like you had too much to talk about. You came back early last night."

Silver sighed. "I thought it was to gather intelligence too. I was severely underprepared."

"I can imagine that. So, you gonna say yes?"

Silver flushed, from his ears to his neck. "What makes you think that?" 

Billie observed him carefully, then smirked.

"Would you really say no? I was wondering why you had that lovesick look on your face all day."

He groaned and covered his face. "Is it really that obvious?"

"You are as red as the tomato you're about to overcook."

"Guh." Silver turned off the heat and finished up the preparation. "You just like making me suffer."

Billie cackled. "No, I just want the best for you. Enjoy your midnight rendezvous! By the way, I suggest you be prepared. I heard Serkonan sausage is quite meaty."

Silver looked like he was very tempted to whack her with a gravy-covered spoon.

~

Corvo made sure to inform Emily of his departure this time. He also recommended that she stayed in the castle, for she might not appreciate tagging along. Emily said okay, with a wink.

Just like that, Corvo went to the Tired House solo, just like how it was supposed to be.

When he looked up at the balcony this time, he noticed Silver was already standing there. Their eyes locked, and for a moment neither of them moved.

Eventually, Corvo climbed his way up. "Hello," he greeted.

"Hi," said Silver. "Nice night, isn't it?"

Corvo agreed. "Very much my time of day."

"It's very quickly become my time of day too. I guess that's what happens when you need to hide from the public view." He leaned on the railing, looking over the balcony.

Corvo looked at him for a moment before turning away. "Why? You could have settled down, had a normal life."

"Hm… I did consider that. I had no real plans. I think it was because Billie was there."

"Because she saved you?"

"I suppose. She was there, she guided me out of the mines, into the city, and she even let me stick around. Somehow or another… it was the first time I had anything like an older sister. I never really had family before, even when I was alive." Then, he smiled wryly. "Besides, one thing I've never liked about being the Outsider was the fact that I could never directly act, only watch and influence. I wasn't going to live the rest of my life like that."

Corvo couldn't help but feel for him. "Was it worth it?" he asked, softly. "Becoming human, only to live your life in the shadows?"

A pause.

"It's not ideal, but it's something. I finally have my life to live. No matter what the future holds... I always remember, I was meant to die with the Outsider. But I lived. Besides… there's plenty of light too. Every minute of light is a minute longer than what I should have had."

Corvo smiled. “That's what I tell myself too.”

For nearly two decades now.

They shared a moment of tacit understanding. It was a little bittersweet, but it was very warm.

They both fell silent. Corvo rubbed his arm and realised he should probably do what he came here to do.

"I don't know exactly why you think I'm taken," he started. "Regardless of the reason, it's a fact that I've been single for a long, long time now."

"Yes, I know," said Silver. "I'm sorry, it was a poor choice of words. What I really meant was, well…"

"It's okay, you don't need to explain." Corvo tried to recall where his speech had left off. Yes, he had rehearsed it many times today. "Ah -- even I wasn't really aware of myself until I thought about it. And… it's true that I considered Jessamine my one and only. I would have married her if given the choice. Her passing didn't lessen my feelings for her."

"She is quite exceptional," Silver commented. "And I've seen many exceptional people throughout the ages."

Corvo smiled. "Yes, she was. But, well… it's really hard to explain, but I know you like analogies, so I'll use one."

Silver snorted at that, but he was smiling too.

"A king is sitting on the throne of his kingdom. The people are very fond of him and thrive under his rule. The king's getting very old, though, so his next-in-line steps up and takes the throne. Let's say it's his daughter. The new queen rules the kingdom very well and gains the people's favour. Even though the old king isn't on the throne anymore, people still love him and remember him as a great king. But it doesn't mean that the new queen is any less worthy of the throne."

Corvo paused and watched Silver's reaction. He was covering his mouth, head turned away. From his side profile, Corvo saw his ears turn red.

"So, what I'm saying is, I'm sorry it took me so long to realise it. Ever since that day, that throne got really fucked up. I never got around to cleaning it all up, but I want to. And… if you can accept me for how fucked up I am, then… I don't care that you used me, though I really don't think you did. Please don't blame yourself, I'm the dense one."

"...you are dense," said Silver, his voice slightly muffled. "But you are not fucked up, and you're not allowed to say that about yourself. You are just a man with a very big heart. I've always loved that about you."

Corvo felt his jaw slacken.

"Let's just pretend I never said that," said Silver in a much softer voice. Corvo could see the rest of his face slowly turn redder and redder.

Corvo smiled. Then, he laughed. He thought his heart was going to burst from endearment. Silver, on the other hand, added an additional hand for face-covering purposes.

"I won't forget it for the rest of my life," Corvo teased him. He reached out to touch his hands, gently pulling them off his face and into his firm grasp.

This close, hands touching, Corvo looked into his eyes. Within his green irises were little universes full of darkness, yet filled with a myriad of lights.

Just like that, the world slowed down around them. There was a deep warmth, but there was also something else, anxious, wishing for more.

"May I?"

Silver blinked slowly, like a kitten would. His eyes darted downwards, but when they looked back up, his heart was in his eyes. Then he leaned forward.

And Corvo leaned back.

On this quiet night, on a balcony looking over the streets, two lovebirds kissed.

And it felt so right, like the universe had realigned, like their hearts had calmed down and became the boundless ocean.

Corvo cupped his face. Silver clung onto his coat, and Corvo could feel himself melting into his grasp. A soft click. They separated ever so slightly for a breath. And from then on, they could no longer ever be apart.

Their souls had intertwined, and now there was an eternal ache that could only be soothed by a kiss, and another, and another. Even a second apart made the ache unbearable.

Silver was giddy from excitement.

"I really like kissing you," he murmured. "I don't want to stop."

Corvo pulled him in and kissed the top of his forehead. "I'll give you all the kisses you want, my love."

"My love…" Silver rolled the words on the tip of his tongue. With that, his self-restraint had totally faded away. Just those two words, said the way Corvo had said it, crumbled his walls to dust.

"I love you," he said, softly.

"I love you more," said Corvo. "I think."

Silver chuckled. "Ridiculous."

"What do you mean? I really like you, you know. I have a big heart."

A smirk. "I don't want to admit defeat, but I will, because I like you that much."

"Well, then  _ I'll _ admit defeat."

"That's not fair."

"It's not in the rules!"

Then, Silver started laughing.

"Oh, come on, just look at us. What are we doing?"

Corvo laughed too. "Being silly together is part of the fun." Then, his tone became muted, gentle yet intense. "My love, I have to leave. When will we meet again?"

"I… I'll try to, about a week, perhaps?" He thought about it, then he grinned. "You can't be heading out all the time. You'll find me in the castle after dinner."

Corvo held him by the back of his neck and leaned into his ear.

"Then I'll be waiting," he whispered.

Silver's breath hitched. The hairs at the back of his neck pricked up.

"Okay," he replied, his voice soft and sweet. One more kiss, and Corvo found himself on ground level, still holding on tight to his lover.

"Until next time, Corvo."

~

It was quiet on the way home. Silver jumped in as silently as possible, only to find Billie sitting at her desk, wide awake.

They looked at each other in silence for a moment.

"Why are you still awake?" asked Silver, narrowing his eyes.

"What's wrong with enjoying a little alone time at home?" She smiled. "You didn't have to come back so early, you know."

Silver rolled his eyes. "It's nothing like what you think it was."

"A kiss, at least?"

Silver's ears flushed against his will.

"Yes," he said, clearly trying not to sound too meek about it. He failed.

Billie chuckled. "Good kisser?"

Silver snorted and turned around to put his things down. Then, Billie heard something like a suppressed giggle. "Really good."

Billie burst into laughter, stopping herself quickly since it was the middle of the night.

"Look at you with your heart-eyes. You silly lovesick fool." She sighed. "Why'd you have to get yourself involved with the Royal Protector, huh? As if your lives weren't complicated enough as is."

"Because we're both silly lovesick fools," he said, grinning. The rest of his face had a tint of red in the moonlight.

Billie snickered, shaking her head. "Just tell me if you need me to stay out for the night."

"Hm… I might take you up on that."

Billie tilted her chin backwards, widening her eyes at him. Silver had a smug look while he walked out the door to wash up.

~*~

It was a cold, quiet night like any other. The lamps sitting at the corners of Corvo's room flickered a little, crackling softly each time.

He brought a nice bottle of whiskey to his desk to drink to his heart's content. Then there was a change of plans, which meant he had to exercise some self-restraint this time.

It was one of his favourite whiskeys, too, and he had indulged in it quite a bit already, but he didn't want the liquor to overpower his senses. He sipped at it slowly, letting it melt through his throat.

He had a notepad opened on his desk and a pen ready in his right hand. There were writings, and Corvo had intended to continue, though try as he might, the words couldn't form sentences properly. The words that did appear in his head couldn't be written down. He was busy, after all. He was keeping his lover company.

The young man sat facing him, straddling his left thigh.

Corvo looked at him, put down his pen and stroked his hair. A whimper was roused from below, rumbling in his chest, among the many other divine sounds that left his mouth.

He smiled. He rested his lips near his forehead and hummed gently. They relaxed into each other, just for that moment.

"Silver..." he mumbled. "My love."

Silver let out a pleasured sigh. "Corvo."

"How does it feel? Do you believe me now?"

"Mnhm..." Silver shifted his weight. Another hand slid up his stomach, lifting his shirt. His body shifted again slightly, responding to his touch. The sudden cold made him gasp.

Corvo's left hand was slick and slippery, and so was Silver's naked lower half.

He was helpless. Corvo was right - he had only moved his arms and Silver already came twice, moaning and whimpering the entire time. 

_ 'Ah, to be young and full of vigour...' _

Corvo envied him for that. Which was precisely why he was going to torture him even more.

He loved how sensitive he was to every little thing. How he tensed up when teased between his thighs. How his lovely voice turned slow and guttural when Corvo stroked him slowly, loud and unrestrained when rubbing the head, pumping him relentlessly -- then stopping when he felt he got too close, the desperate thrusting -- every little thing.

Silver was helpless in his arms, completely helpless. He whined and begged, grabbing fistfuls of Corvo's shirt. He kept drooling, moaning filthier and filthier, completely defiling Corvo's name.

Then he leaned forward and planted tiny, breathy kisses on Corvo's neck. His body was hot, twitching, and Corvo could tell he was close.

His face... He wanted to see Silver's face...

With his right hand, he held his jaw and slowly guided it to face him.

He looked so beautiful with his lips parted like that.

Hearts and stars were in his eyes. Corvo watched as his dark pupils dilated, threatening to overtake his whole cornea like two black eyes.

Black eyes... Corvo was distracted and let out a low chuckle. Silver immediately protested.

"Please don't stop," he whined. "Please..."

"My love," he whispered once more. His right hand reached for his neck and rested there softly. His left hand couldn't get enough, ravaging his lover's warm, slippery cock--

Among his quickening, breathless moans, the filthiest one came out. His hips thrust forward and he started spurting from the tip. Corvo caught most of it in his hand, but some spilled all over Silver's stomach and thighs.

He slumped against Corvo's figure, sighing. He felt a deep scratchy kiss on his temple and smiled.

"C'mon, I'll help you up."

With his help, Silver stood up, legs a little wobbly. He watched as Corvo went to clean his hand, then rested his hands on his back.

"You enjoyed it too, didn't you?" he said coyly.

Corvo turned to him with a warm look. "You were so pretty, love."

"And hot. And erotic. I got you hard again."

Corvo looked down, though it was more of instinct rather than to check. He was already somewhat aware.

"I'll take care of it," he told him. "You should sleep."

"Nope~" Silver liked playing cute when it mattered. "It's my responsibility now."

He tugged him by the forearm, pulling him towards the bed. Corvo couldn't help but let his jaw drop as Silver climbed gracefully onto his bed, knees on the mattress, spreading his legs slightly.

"Silv," he said sternly, "are you sure?"

"Very." Silver grinned. "You spent a lot of time playing with my ass. I'm still all wet inside."

He kissed Corvo and pulled him closer. Then he leaned back, spread his legs and wrapped them loosely around Corvo's waist. He looked so pliant. So vulnerable.

"Don't make me take it out for you," he giggled.

Corvo smirked. "And if I don't?"

"Then your baby would be very sad." He unleashed his ultimate attack: a pout.

How could Corvo say no to that?

Any self-control he had left was tossed aside. At that moment, he couldn't give a damn if Silver would be overstimulated and crying and begging him to stop. Corvo wanted him. He wanted to take him and fuck him and devour him whole.

The bed squeaked softly. Silver cried out underneath him. He was shaking, his moans hitched, growing softer and softer.

"It hurts," he cried. "Fuck, it hurts."

Corvo's desire growled like a starving beast. Yet, he refused to let it take over, and he forced down the feeling.

"Are you alright?"

Silver started groaning again. "Don't stop," he breathed. "Why'd you stop?"

Corvo's face was filled with concern, and now, confusion. "Doesn't it hurt?" 

"Mnhm, I feel like I'm about to explode." Corvo quickly realised that Silver didn't look like he was in pain. Instead, there was a look of dumb bliss on his face.

Corvo felt like he had found his soulmate.

He leaned forward, pushing himself delightfully deeper.

"You like it, don't you?" He put all his force into a single thrust and heard another sweet moan. "You like it really rough. I didn't think you would like that, you little deviant."

"Fuck," came a whine. "Go faster… please, it hurts so  _ good..." _

Corvo happily indulged him.

He held his lover close to him, kissed his neck, bit at his collar, gnawing gently and loving his feedback. He could feel all his inhibitions slip away, undressing him. And he came closer, and closer, until he felt his mind blank and came apart. Silver cried out.

Soon, he felt a sweet, sticky warmth slowly fill his insides. And as Corvo pulled out, a pearly-white liquid dripped down his ass.

Silver slumped onto the bed, panting.

Some time later, his heavy breathing had ceased, became a light snore. Corvo, who was in the process of cleaning up, noticed this and smiled. He wrapped his arms around him and kissed his forehead.

"Told you you needed sleep."

Just like how he dreamed it years ago, he held him in his arms and drifted to sleep, holding such feelings in his heart.


	6. Royal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Silver is offered a position.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mass upload!! I really procrastinated on uploading, I can hardly believe myself to be honest.

In the comfort of her well-adorned study, Emily circled around a small pattern in the carpet, her eyes searching the walls and ceiling for something. Her search was futile. She pressed a hand against her table.

She saw the change happen in front of her eyes. A brooding man, head always buried in his thoughts, could suddenly lift his head up high in wonder. There was a new light in his eyes she thought she would never see again. It was as if her father had been nestled in a chrysalis this whole time, and had finally made his way out.

Emily found it hard to describe how she felt. It was like a weight off her shoulders, only to have another placed on the pavel on her back.

_ It's Silver. _

The vigilante, the troublemaker, the little secret of the Crown. Emily didn't hate him, no. But she felt something, and it was that something which gnawed at her nerves..

Silver, the human who had lived for thousands of years. The one who had the entire world at his mercy. Granted her powers because he thought it would make an interesting spectacle. Granted these powers to others, to watch the chaos they'd cause.

Then, suddenly disrupting the status quo, bringing justice to the people only after he was human again. Attracting attention to himself, getting close to the Crown, becoming the lover of the Lord Protector.

Emily wished she wasn't so critical, but sometimes, she couldn't help but think the worst of people. Especially when it involved her empire.

She could never forget Delilah.

Silver had given her those powers. But then he tried to take it back, but… he had given her that power in the first place. It nearly cost everything. He had almost taken everything from Emily because of it, and for what? For  _ fun. _

All she needed was a bit of coldbloodedness to send him to the Abbey of the Everyman, arrest him for treason, and execute him. She wouldn't even have to get her hands dirty. Just a portion of her personal finances and a few instructions.

But for some reason, her heart told her to reconsider. Her  _ heart _ , out of everything else.

After all, he had given her the power to save her empire. He undermined the positions of a corrupted few to lift countless others. He roamed the world, finding ways to curb the Void's hunger so it wouldn't destroy the world. Plus, he made her father so happy.

And it took a little self-convincing to admit it, but he was only human. An extremely knowledgeable human, who happened to be very adept at wielding the Void's magic. Had virtues and vices, like everyone else.

Not just anyone was able to fulfil that role.

That brought her back to her dilemma.

The door creaked open. Corvo entered to check on her, she guessed. She was right.

"You look stressed," he said. "Don't get yourself too worked up. Sit down, relax a little." He walked behind her and gave her shoulders a reassuring rub.

"...Thank you." She turned around, moving to face him. She noticed how the wrinkles in his smile were deepening, and parts of his hair were becoming white at the roots. Somehow, though, that was part of his charm.

"Corvo, you're starting to become a relic of the past."

"Isn't that another way of saying, 'Corvo, you ancient bastard?'" He cackled. "Thank you for reminding me, my dear Emily."

"I'm just saying that you're very, very special to me," she said, her eyes crinkled in her smile.

"And?" Corvo was not convinced.

"And that you should be considering your retirement soon-"

Corvo cut her off with a groan. "How many times do I have to say it? I'm old, but I'm not about to disintegrate anytime soon. And I still want to protect my daughter myself. That being said, I have prepared for when I will eventually step down."

"I know," said Emily, "But there's another reason why you haven't decided to step down."

Corvo sighed. "I've set the standards too high. I'm a legend," he said the last part in self-reproach. 

She tapped on the table a few times, seemingly deep in thought. "Dad."

"Yes?"

"What do you think about making Silver our Royal Spymaster?"

"...eh?"

The room became stiffly silent.

Emily tilted her head at him, watching him think it over deeply.

"He… is certainly overqualified," he said, finally. "I wouldn't object."

"You wouldn't have regardless, if Silver really wanted it."

Corvo couldn't help but smile in defeat. "Well, I'm just lil' ol' me. In the end, it's up to our Empress to assign the roles herself."

Emily grinned and nodded, pacing a few steps past him. "I'll need you to help me with something."

~

Corvo's palms were coarse but warm, always warm. On a rooftop in the royal grounds, Silver leaned into his arms and surrendered to his kiss.

Up here, the guards couldn't see them. There were many of these blind spots, and Corvo knew them all. In the past, he'd lie down and watch the stars with her. Now, he had his prince in his arms, locked tight in his embrace.

"I miss you," said Corvo, softly into his ear. "I feel like I haven't seen you in years."

Silver smiled. "A few days, more like. But I missed you too."

Corvo kissed his forehead. "I can't stop thinking about you. You keep appearing in my thoughts."

A laugh. "Why do you think of me so often?"

"I don't know. I think everyone's seen me smiling to myself at least once. What's happening to me, Silv? What have you done to me?"

"Hm." Silver put on his thinking face. "This is just a theory, but I think you might be in love with me."

"I think you're onto something." He grinned and kissed him again. "C'mere, lie here with me."

"You mean, now? I thought Emily wished to speak to me. Isn't that why you called me here?"

Corvo didn't seem to be in a hurry at all, lying down across the roof tiles. "She can wait a few minutes. I want to show you the stars."

"You hopeless romantic," he said, while he laid down beside him. "Fine."

And as Corvo recounted everything he learned about the constellations in vague detail, Silver devoted all his attention to him. It didn't matter that Silver had spent the past few millennia studying them, or that Corvo made a few errors in his explanations. Silver sank into the lull of his deep voice, hugging his arm, feeling himself fall deeper than he'd ever imagined he could.

~

The room was homely and ornate, but that only seemed to make the mood even more tense.

"You wanted to speak with me?"

"That's right," said Emily. "Take a seat, you two."

Corvo's hand was still connected to Silver's. They looked at each other for a while, then they both sat down on the sofa chairs one after another.

"I realised we never really caught up properly," she began, taking her seat as well. "What happened in the past few years? What happened after we last saw you?"

She was talking about after Delilah. Silver noted this as a reference and took a deep breath. "The storm was clearing, and the wreckage stretched throughout the entirety of the Void. I had to try to fix the mess Delilah made after executing her grand plan. The Void was incredibly unstable, I was practically the only thing holding it together at that point. When I'd finally fixed most of it, though, I realised that I couldn't see past a certain date.

"On that day, at that time, there were no more choices. I never noticed it before, I was so caught up in matters. Then, I looked into it, and I discovered that would be the day I would end." He looked at Corvo. "You know when. I was there right before that moment."

"But you didn't end," Emily tapped her chin, "because Billie Lurk saved you?"

Silver revealed a wry smile. "At first, she had set out to kill me personally."

The atmosphere grew a little thicker.

"It was Daud's request, his final mission for her. For the world to change, I had to die. They weren't wrong. That's why Billie wanted the knife. I… didn't want to die. I didn't know how to prevent it, I just knew that there was another way. If I could get my name back, I'd no longer be bound to the Void. Whether I'd spontaneously age and combust or something, I didn't know. But I knew Billie had to find me, so I gave back to her the things that would help her find me. And in the end…"

"...she decided to free you," said Corvo.

He nodded. "She convinced Daud to give my name back to me. Then I became human again, the Void fractured, and the cult that had sacrificed me was wiped out from the impact."

He tried to explain as much as he could about those beginnings, how he discovered he could still wield magic, about a revelation that led him to right the wrongs in his own unconventional way.

At the same time, Emily explained some of the bigger developments within the Crown since he lost his Outsider status.

"Speaking of which... Silver, how was it like being the Outsider?"

Silver closed his eyes. He looked like he wasn't going to answer, until he did.

"I felt like a god, though I wasn't."

The other two tried to digest what he said.

"Sure, suddenly I was one with the Void and gained all its powers. I could be at one end of the world and appear on the other end in the next second. I could enter dreams. I could know anything I wanted. I could see into the hearts of people. I could live indefinitely.

"But I was never truly omnipresent, or omnipotent. In the end, I was just a sacrifice. I was chained up, always an Outsider, always meant to look and not touch anything. And I wasn't immune to myself. My emotions became almost magnified. I felt everything so strongly, but I could never show it. I was forever stuck in that cold gaze."

Silver stopped talking, and the room became quiet again.

"I see," said Emily. "I was always curious about that. With that power, if you could see everything. All the happiness, all the suffering, everything in between."

"I couldn't see everything," he said. "But I saw that. The suffering. I saw that the most strongly."

She nodded. "Then, out of everyone you saw, you chose the ones who would receive your powers?" 

"Some invoked it through other means, bypassing my influence for the most part. Of course, never as potent as when I gave them personally."

"I'm very curious about one thing." Her eyes stared intently at him. "How do you choose who to give them to?"

"Well…" Silver trailed off into a silence.

"There were plenty others who yearned for you to call on them," Emily continued. "People who would use your help to help others instead. You didn't give them powers. But you gave them to Delilah." 

The room became frigid.

"You knew what would happen when you gave her those powers. With Daud, too. And even with that human emotion, you went ahead and did it. I don't want to sound like I think you're evil or good or whatever, but I want to know why."

A few seconds passed. Then, Silver looked her in the eyes. There was neither malice nor regret, just emptiness, like the Void's black eyes.

"I didn't know what would happen," he said. "I only saw what could happen. When I gave you my Mark, Corvo, the Empire of the Isles could have collapsed two decades ago. You could have slaughtered your way to Emily, thrown the Isles into utter chaos. And after that? You might have failed anyway, and choose to escape to some faraway land, leaving everything to rot.

"And you, Emily? You were enraged after Delilah took over, when you thought Corvo was dead. You could have killed anyone and everyone who had caused you such pain and suffering. Even when you could revive Corvo, you could have chosen not to, and you'd become the cruel Empress of a defunct world.

"All of it is a gamble. It could either go terribly wrong, or it could save the Empire. And you're right, maybe I don't have the right to choose like that. But ethics mean nothing to an immortal god, and I've seen empires after empires rise and crumble to dust. So I took a gamble with this one. I have caused pain and suffering, inevitably, not just to countless others but to myself. I wasn't supposed to affect the world as I pleased. But I played the game. I lost the bet with Delilah, and I got lucky with you two.

"I don't expect you to forgive me, but that god isn't me any longer. That was the Outsider. And the Outsider is dead." He forced a smile. "Besides, now that I'm human, it's now in my personal interest to protect all that I care about. I do the things I can do. But don't you for a second think that I'm a good person." He laughed. "I've seen and done too much to be considered 'good'."

There was a long silence.

"I don't consider myself good either," said Corvo. "I just… tried my best."

Silver gave him a weak smile. 

"You did too, Silver," said Emily. "I'm sorry. I never knew."

He shook his head. "You had no way of knowing."

Emily respected that with a brief pause. 

"And with that," she continued. "I have come to my conclusion."

Silver looked at her in confusion, mildly in fear. He inched towards Corvo, who looked at him gently and held him.

"What do you think about taking Corvo's position of Royal Spymaster?"

… … … 

Silver did not speak for a long while.

~

It was an upgrade, to say the least. From a figure of infamy, directly into one of the highest positions in the Crown. Silver had every reason to accept it immediately.

Instead, he hesitated. And Billie Lurk wanted to beat the living crap out of him for it.

"What if they change their minds?!" she scolded him. "They definitely have other candidates next in line."

Silver pulled his lips into a flat smile. "That won't be an issue. They'd be dropped in an instant, I'm far more qualified than them."

"See, you know it already. And you're still hesitating?" Billie tutted. "You've become so indecisive."

"No, it's just… I mean, I came here for a reason. The… the Void. I still need to find a way to seal it. And I can't just abandon you."

Billie's eyes grew soft.

"You mean to say that you think taking up the position means you're abandoning me." She let out a long sigh. "Silver, I thought you were smarter than that."

"I know. I'd have more resources at my disposal, I'll catch up on the knowledge that I've missed in the past few years, but my actions will be scrutinised more. I won't be able to help you directly. I'd be in the castle, all up in high society and fancy rooms, while you toil away, patching up the Void, constantly hiding, it's… it's just not fair."

Billie grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Silver." She looked deeply into his eyes. "You've already helped me in ways I cannot explain. Don't you dare feel bad about enjoying the finer things in life. I… you've already helped me find a pretty decent substitute." She smiled. "A purpose in life. And… and a friend. And family."

Silver smiled, but it looked like he was about to cry. Seeing this, Billie had half a mind to start tearing up herself. Then, she pulled him into a tight hug.

~

Corvo took a swig from a red flask, then looked back at the other side of his bedroom. "What do you think about that?"

"I have foreseen this issue," said Silver, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. "I do have a particularly troublesome reputation. I thought the Crown had a solution to that."

"Yeah," he replied. "We have one, but we want to know if you have any better ideas."

Silver raised an eyebrow. "Tell me what you've got so far."

"Okay. I'd say our plan is pretty bold. We won't say it directly, but we're not planning to hide your reputation as the vigilante. In fact, it will add onto your persona. You were an affiliate under a Royal Spy, and years ago, you took over that position and was stationed at Karnaca. Your recent achievements were noticed by the Empress, who decided her old Royal Protector had enough and gave you the job to replace him."

"Hm." Silver let out a small smile. "Interesting."

"Also, a separate but not completely unrelated part of the plan," Corvo continued, giving him a tiny smug grin he knew Silver liked so much. "We need to arrange the official documents. You'll have an officially recognised name. Telling those corrupt nobles you undermined that Silver Lurk is the new Royal Spymaster, is… a bit too forward for Emily's liking. Still, if you kept the name Silver, it'll leave people guessing in private, which is what we want. Easier for us, too. We'll just have to change the last name." The smile surfaced again. "What do you think about being known as Silver Attano?" 

Silver's deep contemplative expression was immediately replaced with a full-faced blush.

"A-and you're saying it for real," he asked in a murmur.

"Yeah." Corvo was very pleased with his reaction. "Emily approved of it, too. Said she'd love to have a stepfather."

"Guh." He paced around, eyes darted to the side. "There is no way I'd let her call me that. But your idea, it's not like I…  _ detest _ it or anything…" He abruptly stopped in his tracks. "Corvo, your suggestion is actually brilliant. Probably accidentally brilliant."

Corvo gave him a vague look of incomprehension. Silver shook his head.

"Definitely accidental. Think about it. When they find out that I share your surname, what would they naturally conclude?"

"My wife," Corvo replied, seconds before realising what he meant.

"Well, if I were a woman, yes," he said, this time leaning against the bed frame. "If I were female, that would be more obvious. But as a young man, it doesn't mean anything, unless…"

"They'd… they'd think you're my illegitimate son or something!" Corvo was about to burst into hysterics. "Oh, that is goddamn insane."

"Precisely! Then they'll go, 'ah, that's why he got the position, he's related to the Royal Protector who is, cough cough, probably the Empress' father.' And that's when they stop, thinking they cracked the code. A lie within a lie."

"Let's assume I came up with this idea knowing this. I'm a genius," said Corvo proudly, taking another swig of elixir.

"No, you just wanted me to take your name."

Corvo's gaze turned soft.

"In another life I'd take your hand in marriage," he said wistfully. "It's alright though. I don’t need marriage."

He never needed marriage to bind him to his love, thought Silver, who sighed. "What's the point of it, really? It's just a fancy ritual where you declare your everlasting love and consummate the union. Both things we've done already," he said smugly.

"Huh. Really?" Corvo exaggerated a pensive look. "I don't consider it a consummation unless it lasts the whole night."

Even Silver couldn't resist an giggle. "Are you sure you can handle that, old man?"

Corvo silently took another swig out of the emptying glass flask. Then, Silver's expression changed.

"That… is not a regular elixir, is it?"

A smile. "I was wondering when you'd notice."

"I noticed it a while back, I just thought it was another one of your health remedies."

"Well, it is," he said slowly. "An S&J product. Meant to be an improvement on the previous formula, but an early version ended up having some… interesting effects."

"If you're making something that improves vitality, that is bound to happen." Smirking, he sat himself down on his bed. "Should have seen it coming. An aphrodisiac, of course you would."

"I can't keep up with you otherwise," Corvo sighed, dropping the empty container lightly to the side. "Cut me some slack. I just want you to have a good time."

Something changed in Silver's lovely green eyes.

"Then give me a good time."

He laid there in his sheets, beckoning him with his gaze. The rest of the night was history.


	7. Whale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whales out of water...

Empty.

There was something profoundly empty about the ceremony.

As a direct subordinate to the Crown, it was natural and expected for there to be some proceedings to officiate the role. The title of Royal Spymaster was one that was quite controversial given its purpose and, most importantly, history. The only thing truly public about the role was the position itself.

At the very least, there had to be an identity. Previously, that belonged to Royal Protector Corvo Attano. Now, he had a successor, suited up in black and gold.

On the stately throne sat Emily, who felt so much more powerful here than Silver had experienced before. Previously, it was him looking over her, and now he kneeled in front of her, under her regal gaze. From the little girl Corvo would do anything to save, to the woman who held the respect of the whole Empire. His heart beamed for her in endearment.

Silver chided himself internally. He really did sound like a proud parent.

Beside her stood Corvo, now acting as Royal Spymaster. Two powerful figures in the room, amongst many important people in attendance, the nobles and the guards, and they were all gathered together for his sake. It would have been glorious and intimidating to anyone else in his position, except Silver felt nothing.

He knew practically everyone here. To him, it was like watching a drama theatre, and the ceremony was just that - an ornament in a play, one he wasn't involved in. Even though all eyes were on him, even though he knew cognitively that he had become an actor on the stage, he couldn't shake off the feeling, the arrogance, of an ancient and distant existence.

He wasn't contemptuous, though. Instead, he simply adhered and watched, hearing voices without listening to their words. He looked up at Corvo, who looked at him deeply as he spoke.

"I shall hand over my position as Royal Spymaster to my successor, Silver Attano."

As expected, a rush of murmurs erupted. Those two words that made up his name seemed to hold within them a delectable wrap of secrets waiting to unfold.

"Silence," called Emily. The attendees quietened. "Will you accept this esteemed role, and uphold the dignity of the Crown?"

Silver bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then I hereby declare Silver Attano, Royal Spymaster to the Empire of the Isles!"

And from that moment onwards, his life had taken a new turn.

~

Though the Spymaster didn’t need to report everything he did to the Empress, there were certain duties that needed to be done. Besides, Silver had no real reason to be untruthful to Emily, especially not to Corvo.

He had an office, now, and his own quarters. Right after the ceremony had concluded and Silver had gotten some rest in his room, which he had settled in just the day before, he met Corvo at the Spymaster’s office, the latter still cleaning up and wiping dust off a few folders.

“Sorry about the mess,” said Corvo, with a miserable smile. “I, uh, I swear I use this room more often than it looks. It’s clean most of the time. Especially when you have people come in to talk, it needs to look clean.”

“You just shove everything into the drawers and shelves,” said Silver, deadpan. “I didn’t even need to know you do that to figure that out.”

“Hey, it works. Never had to go back and dig it all out again. Anyone who broke in and tried to search for info would have a nightmare trying to find anything.”

Silver couldn’t say he was wrong.

“But, yeah,” Corvo continued, “clearly did not think about when I’ll need to hand this room to someone else. Oh, wait, I think I would have made them clean the place themselves anyway. But it’s you, so... “ He grinned.

“Very charming of you.” Silver walked up to him and kissed him, much to Corvo’s delight. “Though you would have made the servants do it if you had a choice, I still accept your goodwill.”

“You know me too well.” He sighed, before smiling again. “I like that about you.”

“Stop flirting, it makes me sick.” Silver deliberately turned away to dust off a lounging chair, and then sat down.

Corvo sat down beside him. “I’m supposed to teach you how to do your job, though I don’t think I need to do that.”

“You have to,” was the teasing retort. “I don’t know anything.”

Corvo stood there, staring without knowing what to say.

You? Not knowing anything?

“You just want me to suffer,” Corvo somehow managed to make a fake sob sound deadpan. “Alright then. After I finish cleaning this up.”

“After _we_ finish cleaning up,” said Silver, revealing a small smile.

Corvo had his mouth wide open. “And I thought you’d make me do everything.”

“Almost everything.”

~

Silver had dinner with Emily and Corvo. Not that it wasn’t particularly strange given his status, but it made the servers certain of one thing; that new face had a pretty good relationship with the two, and not just anyone could do that.

Eating the delectable food the Royal cooks had to offer nearly made Silver cry. The father-daughter pair quickly noticed, and Corvo teased him for it. Emily watched on with a smile. She had made an effort to ask him for his food preferences and specially request them on his behalf, so seeing Silver satisfied pleased her greatly.

They continued to chat amiably, and when they bade each other good night, Silver noticed the servants started to act differently around him -- and not in a negative way. He was being treated practically like royalty, or a royalty’s close friend. Well, the latter wasn’t wrong.

He had unwittingly been elevated to somewhere just below Emily's pedestal. The rumours that he was the Empress’ step brother might have helped. It also probably helped that, due to _that_ tenuous status and his esteemed position of Spymaster, as it stood, if the situation called for it, he would be the next candidate for Lord Regent or even Emperor if he truly wished for it.

It was still strange to have people physically serve and almost fear him, even though he had experienced way more in the past. The key difference was in his involvement. Then, he had been the Outsider. Now, if anything, he was the Insider.

Work began tomorrow morning. For now, he pretended to go to sleep, sneaked past the guards and servants and made his way to Corvo’s room, where he was promised snuggles.

~

Months had passed. Corvo watched as the new Spymaster took to his role like a whale to water. He didn’t just have a starting advantage when it came to intel, he also knew how to fill in the gaps without his inhuman perception. Life proceeded as usual, since his work was always undercover to begin with, and Silver was beginning to get used to his new standard of living.

“It’s weird,” he complained to Corvo once. “I don’t want to get used to it. Is that weird?”

“No, it’s not. I felt that way too.”

As long as they never forgot where they came from, parts of them would always feel guilty from time to time. The only thing to do was to be kind, and generous.

That made the servants and otherwise lowly folk truly respect Emily, who wasn’t polite just for show. That same respect and admiration extended to Corvo, and to Silver, as well. There was a general hope for the future, of kind, understanding rulers that valued you regardless of your social status. It was an unattainable ideal one could only hope for, but at least there was hope.

In tangential news, a few rumours began spreading within the common folk. The one about Silver being the vigilante of Karnaca was a given, and many speculated about his blood ties to Corvo. More interestingly though, were the rumours that Silver slept around a lot -- and quite possibly with men, too.

First discovered by the laundry servants, who were almost always first to learn about anything of this sort, when they noticed Silver’s bedsheets and even clothes would occasionally be washed already, before they even got to it.

Telltale stains were a dead giveaway, so the guilty tended to do _that_ portion of the laundry before leaving it to the servants. That in itself meant something, though. It wasn’t uncommon for those high-ranking and working for the Crown to have someone over for the night, so they usually didn’t bother to hide it. When they did, it implied they had _more_ to hide.

Then one time, Silver must have forgotten, because during their daily routine, they entered the room and the evidence was clear. And they couldn’t tell for sure, but one of them swore there couldn’t have been any women involved.

Somehow, the story became more dramatic, and some even believed that he slept with his spies. It was only vaguely plausible, but it naturally made the spies who caught wind of it a little wary of Silver. That was how the Spymaster had first caught wind of it himself.

His facial expression had been unreadable. “As a matter of fact, I don’t,” he sighed. “Not even by coincidence. Please be assured I won’t do anything untoward with you. Oh, and please do your best to undermine this rumour.”

Corvo, on the other hand, nearly lost it when he found out.

He hadn’t laughed as much as he did for a long, long time. “It was only a matter of time, you know.”

“I told you the roof was better!”

“I was trying to be considerate,” said Corvo, still smiling. “Besides, you agreed at that time.”

_‘And you look so pretty when you're mad, though.’_

“Imagine if I didn’t have the good sense of leaving a bonecharm in the room. We would have been caught. Caught! And here you are laughing at me. All your setup for me would have been for nothing.”

Silver turned to the side, away from Corvo. Though his face didn’t show it, Corvo had a vague inkling that his lover was genuinely upset. His laughter ceased immediately.

Such rumours had never mattered to him. After all, he’d never been caught in the past. This wasn’t because of him, though, but because Jessamine had been too clever. Besides, everyone in the castle had known it as an untold truth.

This time, it was different. This time, they had to fool everyone, and that was difficult, even for an ex-god. Maybe she would have laughed along and ignored the rumours like he did, back when they felt everything and anything was possible, as long as they had each other. He didn’t anymore.

He was lucky enough to get a second chance, and yet he was so careless.

Gently, he walked across the office, placed a hand on Silver’s shoulder and stood behind him, giving him warmth.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking.”

Silver grumbled, responding warmly to his touch. “Neither was I. I’m sorry.” He leaned into Corvo, almost deflating. “I should have been better than that.”

Now the guilt was really kicking in. “No, no, that’s not it. Please don’t blame yourself for me being a dumbass.”

Silver cracked a weak smile. “I just blame myself for not being good enough. I don’t know.” He moved away and sat down, elbows on his lap. “I don’t think I’m good at this.”

“What are you talking about? You’re doing amazing. The only reason why the agents doubt you is because of a silly mistake I made. You’re doing it better than anyone can.”

Silver shook his head and sighed. “But am I good enough?”

“You are never not good enough.”

“I mean, for you.” Their eyes locked, painfully, though Corvo felt like he could never let go even if he tried.

“Will I ever be good enough for you?”

In his eyes was an ancient sadness, a deep-seated loneliness that clouded his vision till now, as if he was all too prepared to sink back in, like it was all just a dream.

Corvo’s heart ached till it cracked.

“My love,” he called out weakly. “You’re hurting. Why?”

“I don’t know.” Silver laughed. “I don’t know. I feel too much. I’ve always felt too much.”

“Silver,” he said, stepping forward to grasp his hands tightly, “you’re more than I could ever hope for.”

“But I’m a monster,” he muttered. “I took your hope away from you. From many others. I will live the rest of my life trying to mend all the pain I’ve caused, but I never will.”

“Silver.”

“I hold a position I don’t deserve. A name that’s not even my own. The world is slowly falling apart and I don’t know what to do. I took away your lover, Corvo, and I nearly took everything else-”

“Silver.”

Corvo’s hands gripped tightly onto his, like he was trying to squeeze it in a chokehold.

“You are not a monster. You are human, and you’ve always only just been human. You did not take her away from me, Daud -- no, Hiram Burrows did. Don’t put yourself down again. Please. I’m… I’m sorry. You don’t deserve this. No one does.”

Silver took a deep breath and lunged at him, holding him in a tight hug. “I love you.”

He felt fingers dig into his back, threatening to rip the fabric.

"Corvo," was all that he said. But it was enough for the Protector.

"You are so, so special to me," Corvo whispered in his ear. "You're witty, clever, and your intelligence is unparalleled. You're one-in-a-billion, you're pretty, so handsome, and you're so strong, and so powerful. And you've got a big heart, bigger than you give yourself credit for. I've always loved you for that."

Silver buried himself deeper into his chest. "Mine," he said. "I'm selfish that way. You're mine only."

"I am," Corvo admitted. "I'm yours."

He loved simply and with every fibre of his being. He knew Silver knew, and he just needed to remind him.

"Thank you, Corvo. Thank you."

His shoulders relaxed, and Corvo found himself finally released from his tenseness as well.

"My love," he said tenderly, "you've clearly been under too much pressure. What's gotten you so worked up?" 

Silver was quiet for a while, simply basking in their shared warmth. Then, he finally answered.

"I've got a few letters I should let you read."

Curious, Corvo watched as he wriggled out of their embrace and retrieved a set of letters from his desk. He recognised them as letters from informants, marked by a symbol half-covered by the seal.

He opened them, a little confused at first. He took out the letters, all properly written in code.

"You haven't decoded them yet?" he asked.

Silver gave him a strange look. "I did," he said. "How else do you think I read it?"

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

"You can _read_ code?" After saying it, Corvo realised he shouldn't have been so surprised - it was Silver, after all. "Well, I can't. I do it the old-fashioned way."

Silver smirked. "I'll just read it out, then."

He smoothed one out and paused for a bit. "This one's from Billie," he said.

"Silver, I hope you've been alright. Must be busy with your new role. Me, I've almost completed my rounds around Gristol, I'm in the north near Redmoor. Nice place, really. Anyway, I'm writing to inform you of recent developments. I've been scouring for the Hollows as usual, but something is happening. You've seen how they're like, stubborn, growing like cancer. They've been unusually calm the past month. Either something is wrong with the north of Gristol, or something else has happened to the source. I'll keep you posted. Best wishes from your favourite neighbourhood tramp."

He smiled as he said the last line, but his expression became sombre again.

"Something is happening with the Void," said Corvo. "It's not a good thing, is it?" 

Without another word, Silver took out the other letter and began reading it. "Your Excellency. I've received news that will likely reach the official channels in a few weeks, if at all. Many whaling boats have been lost at sea, more than usual. Consequently, the supply of all whale products is reaching a deficit. Soon the industry will have to use their reserves to fuel the demand. They attribute this to unfortunate weather conditions, but my sources suggest otherwise.

"According to a survivor, they were hauling a whale on board when they were suddenly surrounded by an entire horde of its brethren, gathered in one area as if in wait. They attacked viciously, with unprecedented force. Notably, he swore that some sort of unnatural witchcraft was happening. Though I cannot confirm the validity of his words, whalebone is indeed used in runes and charms. There may be a link. I will update you should I receive more news. Sincerely, B."

"The whales," said Corvo, standing up. He knew of their connection to the Void. "They're… fighting back. Why?"

"They don't usually gather in pods," said Silver. "They've never liked humans, but they've never had the coordination to fight back like this. In fact, the only time whales can be seen together… was near the Ritual Hold. Near the source of my magic."

Corvo suddenly understood what he was getting at.

"You mean to say there's a link between the two letters."

"There's always a link, Corvo. It's what the link means that's important. This… this means… everything we know is going to change."

~

The Shrouded Kite set sail from the ports of Dunwall once again. This time, it wasn't just Billie Lurk on board. The boat was stocked with enough to support three people, herself included.

It would have been four if Emily had a bit more freedom to leave the capital as she wished. This trip, however, spelled so much danger that no one would risk her coming along.

In fact, they couldn't risk anyone else coming along, not unless they had been touched by the Void before.

"Remember, our only goal is to reach the centre and to survive," Silver reminded his crewmates. "And to avoid any witnesses, though that's pretty much a non-issue. With the loss of all those boats, sea traffic will be limited."

They nodded. One took the wheel, while the other stayed by his side and gripped his wrist.

"Just remember," he said, "that I'll be here to protect you."

Silver smiled. "And I'll have to protect you too."

Corvo kissed his forehead. "Come on, let's rest. We've got a long journey ahead."

They headed to the cabins, arms linked.

The plan was simple. They were to figure out the mystery, find the source of the power, and with Silver around, maybe even communicate with them. Such a plan made it almost impossible for Corvo to actually plan ahead, which made him nervous.

He could only imagine what Silver was feeling, though, when any direct contact with the Void would cause it to try and suck him back in.

He was right. The world was always going to change, ever since he left the throne. Now, though, was when they no longer had any other choice but to face it.

Quietly, the ship left for the high seas.


	8. God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They meet the centre of the storm.

For eons, the tides had fought against all who attempted to cross them. On this very night, they became strange, warping with the winds.

They had brought a machine that produced Void-cancelling music, but it was small and barely audible over a few metres away. Worse, it didn't do much to ease the weather, but it did hamper Silver's ability to use magic, so it was turned off and became dead weight.

The Shrouded Kite was not built to stray so far from land, but it could handle a few weeks of voyage. With the waters fighting to keep them away, though, Silver spent most of his time surrounded by the runes and charms they managed to fit on board, blowing back the waves that threatened to capsize them with sheer wind force.

Because of that, he was barely able to rest. Corvo brought him food, water, and warmth. In those rare hours of rest, he laid his head against his chest and fell asleep to the feeling of Corvo's hand gently touching his hair.

In the meantime, Billie fought against the waves with all that she could manage. In this cold, unforgiving place, a bone-deep exhaustion began to seep into the cracks of her determination, but she stubbornly held on. For Silver's sake. For everyone's sake.

In this atmosphere, Corvo placed him gently on the deck, head propped up by a food sack. He touched two runes with his hands, attempting to connect back to the Void who no longer recognised him. The runes felt cold, but they were warming up under his fingertips. Thankfully, they recharged quite quickly in this bizarre seascape.

"It was never like this before," he mumbled to himself. More strongly than ever, he felt the tides of change looming over the world.

He tried to get back the feeling of his powers. With that will, he attempted to push the waves out of the way.

His strength was pathetic, but with that inkling of connection he managed to keep a thin film of water separated from the rest of the sea, pushing back to rid of the stray splashes.

Then, it almost seemed as if the waves had finally obliged, because they became inexplicably normal. It wasn't to say they were calm, but the warping winds seemed to peter out.

For a moment, Corvo looked at his hands in dumb shock, almost believing he had done it himself. Billie looked over at him puzzledly, when she caught sight of a large shadow in the murky waters.

"A whale!" she shouted, causing Corvo to spring to action. Silver blinked himself awake, dazed for a few seconds before vaguely sensing that something had happened.

Billie was at the wheel, trying to get them away as quickly as possible.

Then, there was a massive heave of water that did not deliberately try to capsize the boat, though it nearly did. A head almost as large as the boat itself appeared within a flurry of water.

Silver had gotten up, grabbed a few charms and ran towards the creature, manifesting his magic around him.

"Friend!" he spoke. As he did, the air around them seemed to undulate slightly. As the other two heard it, it sparked something in their memory. It was almost like how his voice used to be - echoey, ethereal, out of this world.

The leviathan opened its mouth.

"YOU."

It was a booming voice that echoed within their heads. It was a voice that couldn't be spoken in any other language, but with that strange, undulating air, they could almost understand it.

"What happened?" shouted Silver. "You've remained passive towards humans even after they began hunting you for oil. What has changed?"

In the silence, those on the ship waited with bated breaths.

"GOD. VOID. POWER." The strange syntax of their language made its sentences almost impossible to follow. "YOU. GONE. NO. THOUGHT."

"No, I'm not gone," Silver replied. "But I am no longer the Void God I was before."

"NO." It bellowed. "HUMAN. PAST. HUMAN. NOW. GONE. FOLLOW. MINE. GOD. NEW."

"What… what is it saying?" asked Billie, her heart in her throat.

"I-I think it's saying there's a new god," he said, feeling the dread fill his entire being. "That's impossible. Most of the cult… There has to be survivors, of course. But how could they…? Unless…"

He began to shake violently. His knees buckled and he fell to the floor. Corvo rushed over and enveloped him in his warmth, but he too was shaking.

Delilah. If she returned, there was no one to fight against her. She couldn't leverage the power of the Ritual Hold any longer, but the residual energy could be enough. She was powerful enough as is.

As god, she could change everything. Then everything would truly be in chaos.

"HUMAN. NO. US. SUPREME. LEVIATHAN. GOD. OLD. LIKE."

Silver drew in a gasp.

"The New God of the void isn't human?" 

"NO. ALWAYS. BEFORE. WE. GOD."

Silver let out a heaving sigh. He kept shivering. No words could describe how relieved he was, to the point of feeling weaker.

"Who is the New God?" he asked, before its words registered more clearly in his head. "It's… one of your kind?"

"YES. ANCESTOR. GOD. OLD. US. NEW. POWER."

"You mean… ah, the old god is your ancestor. Now, the Void has appointed one of your kind as the new god?"

"SENSE. KING. FOLLOW." It said it proudly. Then, it sank back into the ocean, and began to swim away.

After steadying the boat, the other two looked at Silver blankly. They could only understand a bit of the conversation, mostly through Silver's input.

"Follow it," he said, a new light in his eyes. "We have a lead. It has a leader, a King, and the King just be the new Void God. It must be going towards the King, to receive the Void's power." He looked between the two of them. "Quickly. We have to follow it."

~

They inched forward through the vast expanse, hoping they were approaching the centre of it all. The so-called King of the whales.

They didn't have much of a choice. Heading back was technically a possibility, but after what they've discovered, they couldn't just go back. There were the strange winds and tides that threatened to sink them, too, and for some reason, they shied away from anywhere near the whales. So they followed the shadow, which occasionally popped its head out and studied their boat warily, and the next few days were finally peaceful. 

Finally, Silver was able to sleep for hours on end. The straw material that made up his makeshift bed made him ache all over, though, at which point Corvo insisted he got up and moved around.

It was a cautious period of peace. Every minute felt like the calm before a storm, as if it was about to break. Still, the uneventful times were a much needed respite, only interrupted when the Shrouded Kite was slipping out of the radius.

Even so, when the whale eventually slipped away, the tides were no longer as vicious as before.

Patience frayed, and nerves on high alert, the three of them sailed on, not knowing what could happen at this rate.

Then, in the distance, small specks of something appeared on the horizon. It was barely visible until they got much closer, but when they did, it didn't take long to figure out what it was. They were chunks of Void stone.

"We're getting there," said Silver softly, ignoring the shivers that ran through his body. "If… if my guess is correct and that we're nearing a place where the Void has torn through and taken hold of, then we need to use the music box."

Corvo nearly protested, fearing the lack of powers may render them helpless at the worst time, but he knew nothing would change if he did. They'd already anticipated this, right from when they lugged the machine on board in spite of everything else they could have brought.

Silver was a sacrifice, a sacrifice that had broken free. The Void wanted to claim back what it had lost.

Corvo couldn't allow that.

The droning of the music was almost painful, but necessary. As they went further into the centre, the chunks of stone only grew in size, and in density, until it became an asteroid belt and the boat could no longer find a safe path through. Well, 'safe'.

"I can push out a path," said Silver, eyes looking down.

Billie shot him a harsh look. "I'm not going to let you switch off the music," she said. "Who knows what will happen to you if we do?" 

Silver thought for a long moment.

"As always," he said, "we are waiting on fate's action."

Confused, Corvo put a hand on his shoulder. Silver turned around and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything rash. We should be pretty much in the King's territory. I hope the King discovers there's an unbreachable hole that its perception cannot reach, and that it's staying in its territory."

"What happens if it does discover it?" asked Corvo.

Silver sighed. "Then it should have to come in person. Uh, in whale. I meant meet us directly."

Corvo smiled and moved his hand to the back of his neck. It was a small reassurance, but it was significant nonetheless.

"Wait," said Billie. "We're waiting for it to come to us?"

"That's our only option, it seems."

"How long would it take? What if it never comes?"

"That…" Silver paused. "I don't know."

"We are not going to stay here until we run out of supplies," she said, sternly.

"Can we wait a few days, at least?" 

Billie closed her eyes, thinking for a while.

"I guess we don't have much choice. Do we ever, though?"

Then, as if on cue, everything began to tremble. The stones began violently thrashing about, and with a massive displacement of seawater, a water spout from beneath the surface pushed the black-grey stones far out into the skies. Replacing the space was an enormous leviathan, so huge the ship could easily fit in its mouth.

“So you made it,” said Silver with a smile. “Greetings, the King of the Whales.”

“OUTSIDER,” it bellowed. “WHAT. PRESENCE. REASON.”

The King seemed to have a better grasp of humanoid languages.

“You’ve gained the ability to fight back,” said Silver. “You have powers you’ve never had before. You are able to bestow them to your kind.”

“YES. NO. MORE. PREY. NOW. WE. HUNT.” It let out a deep cry, and it began to float above the water. The trio realised they were surrounded, with whales appearing all around them, slowly floating into the air as well.

In the midst of giants, the boat was truly a miniscule existence, like that of a housefly.

“US. GOD. SUPREME. SOON. POWER. GROW. WE. END. HUMAN.” It opened its mouth wide, then snapped it shut, causing a gust of wind to shoot forth. “END.  **ALL.** ”

His fellow whales let out an orchestra of war cries, filled with indignance and pride. They were humiliated for far too long, and now, they could fight back.

Corvo tried to control his trembling, but failed. If these giant creatures were to truly attack the Isles with full force… they wouldn’t stand a chance.

Humanity would make one final payment for all it has done to these creatures.

“No. Something isn’t right.” Silver looked up at the creature with an unrelenting stare. “If you are a God as you say you are, you wouldn’t be stuck here. You would have already found ways to wreak havoc on land. No, you’re only just beginning to gather the Void’s power into your will. 

“You are no God," he concluded. "You're just another being that was marked by the Void."

The King let out a piercing roar.

“You know your powers are limited,” he continued with difficulty. “Your time, too, is limited. You know precisely what will happen once the Void takes over. Everything will return, everything dies. As lost souls, your kind will wander among the Void as fragmented ghosts for eternity.”

“BETTER. THEN. HUMAN. NO. SLAUGHTER. FOR. FOOD. OIL. WE. DESTROY.”

“We can help. We work for our royalty. We have the power to cease the hunt.”

“NONSENSE. TRICKERY. HUMAN. NEED. OIL.”

“No, we only need a source of energy. Please, listen. I offer you a choice, King - I shall offer you godhood.”

Billie and Corvo lurched back in shock. “Silver, what are you doing?”

“The Void still calls for my name,” he said. “It wants it back. This name would grant you the powers of a true Void God, in exchange for being bound to the Void for as long as it exists.”

“YOU. HELP. US. DESTROY?” The King was understandably doubtful.

“You have another choice.” On the boat, Silver was trembling, but he refused to let his voice falter. "With that power, you have the ability to accelerate your plans. But do you not think we have ways to fight back? Void magic isn't all-powerful. You will sacrifice a  _ lot _ of your kind before you come close to succeeding. 

"Instead, we can come to a truce. Anyone who does try to hunt your kind will be dealt with as you wish. In exchange, give humanity a connection to the Void so that we can tap on its power instead. Naturally, switching our energy source will take time, but I will expedite the process with everything in my power."

"HOW. TRUST. YOU?"

"You knew me as the Outsider. You already know why I will do this."

Gentle, intelligent creatures, roaming and thriving within the deep seas, at least until people discovered the value of its innards and butchered them up. The Outsider looked at this in derision, in passive discontent. Humans and their sins, forever perpetuating even without his interference.

"How would you even do that?" asked Billie, holding him by the shoulder. "How are you going to 'give' it your name?" 

Silver smiled miserably at her. "A ritual, of course." He turned back to the King. "I will have to carve my name onto your back."

"I will help you," said Corvo.

Silver shook his head. "No, it has to be done by me." He looked towards Billie. "I need the knife."

"YOU. KNIFE. KING?" the King erupted again with an aura of anger.

"It doesn't need to go in deep. Only the length of the knife."

Billie materialised the twin-bladed knife and showed it to the King. Given its massive body, a cut that shallow wasn't life-threatening at all. Then, she handed Silver the blade.

"ANY. TRICKERY. WE. END. ALL."

"Yes, yes." He almost sounded exasperated, as if he was speaking to a child, even though the King was probably just as old, if not older. "Can you lift me up?" 

From behind him, a gust of wind clawed up and tried to grab him, but the effect dissipated without doing much.

"INTERFERENCE."

"It must be the music box," said Corvo. "But…"

"We don't have much choice," said Silver. "Unless I can carry it up with me, it wouldn't help me either."

A silence fell between the three of them.

"Can you promise me something?" asked Billie. "Can you promise me right now, to my face, and tell me you'll be able to make it out alive? Look me in the eyes."

So Silver did, with a look of quiet determination. "I will. I can make it out alive."

There was a reluctance in her eyes, but she knew they had no other choice.

That was just life, wasn't it? With magic or without. Sometimes, there were choices. Other times, you were helpless to do anything but watch it unfold.

Just like in the birth of the Outsider, his name ripped from him and his existence unaging against his will. Just like with Deidre, who died on an arrogant noble's whim. Just like when Corvo was held back, while his Empress was stabbed to death.

Watching Silver stare down the eyes of death, and herself incapable of stopping him.

She switched off the music box, knowing her sworn brother might not return to them alive.

Instantly, the same wind swept up behind them again, almost blowing the other two back in the process. Small cracks were already forming around Silver's eye, but he clenched his teeth and endured it. He leapt onto its back, grasped the knife tightly and sunk it in.

A deep grumble rumbled through the surface, and Silver could feel it in his throat, in his heart. He continued, tearing a line through. The language of the dead, the Outsider's Mark. He even knew what it was, spoken.

Then, the Void behind him suddenly cracked open.

The winds surrounding them turned into a hurricane, threatening to pull everything apart. Billie found herself fighting the waves with all she had, and Corvo expending all the magic he could, but their efforts were futile. Their boat was cracking apart, and it was going to capsize. It became surrounded by walls of water. Billie had already surrendered to the worst, so Corvo was the first to notice that the boat was still upright, and that he could still breathe.

Surrounding them, the whales braced the torrential winds and formed a shield of waves around them.

With the King's call, all of its fellow whales fought to block out the winds from around them, but it only helped so much. Grey chunks were forming rapidly on Silver's face, and he could feel his arm stiffening. With his whole effort, he continued to carve his name, clinging onto the grip he had on his knife to stop himself from being sucked into the Void.

With an agonised scream, he completed the last stroke, a circular shape in the mark. The stones were quickly devouring him, and it hurt as immensely as it did all those times he was or was nearly turned to stone. Yet, amongst the pain, he held on.

There was no other way. There was no other choice he would make.

He pulled out the knife, sinking his fingers into the cut skin to stay on the King's back. He repositioned himself, closed his eyes, and plunged the knife into his abdomen.

Involuntarily, he let out a blood-boiling shriek, which attracted the attention of the two humans still on board. All they saw was Silver clinging onto the back of the whale, a knife punctured in his body.

Then, they saw him pull out the blade.

They realised, in horror, that this was the part of the ritual he did not tell them about.

With every bit of his willpower and a little more, he stabbed the surface again to get a better hold of himself. Then, he turned himself to the side, letting the blood seep into the carvings. Slowly, from where the blood had seeped in, the whale's back began to glow. When the entire carving was glowing, the King bellowed again, this time like a war cry.

"POWER. GOD."

Its body slowly turned incorporeal, and its eyes began to turn blood red. Then, they slowly turned blacker and blacker.

For a moment, it let itself be carried into the Void, with Silver still on its back. Then, it seemed to have suddenly remembered, and it tossed a blanket of wind around his body, throwing it out into the ocean.

The Void no longer pulled at him.

The hurricane ceased. The whales looked on, heads held down in reverence as the source of all dark energy began merging with the King. Billie and Corvo were desperately rowing over to Silver's side, his body resting on a cradle of wind.

Then, the King had become a God. The chunks of stone that had engulfed almost half of Silver's body quickly sublimed into the air, returning to the centre.

Corvo had with him every medical supply they had on board, and immediately began wrapping bandages around his abdominal wound.

"Silver," he shook him, trying to elicit a response. "Silver, are you there?"

He lay in his arms without response.

"Please, love, please be alright," he said, his face empty but his voice shaking with fear. He checked his vitals, and heaved a huge sigh of relief when he found he was still breathing, his heart still beating.

"Thank fuck," Billie barely had any breath left to voice out. They rowed back to the main boat, which was in a pretty shoddy state, but good enough to help them sail back. And as the whales all floated into the distance, with Silver alive in their arms… no matter what would happen, somehow, they knew that everything was going to be okay. 


	9. Protector

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story comes to a close...

"Silver.”

A sharp blink of light passed into his consciousness. It was blurry, and hard to grasp.

“Silver? Are you awake?"

Corvo. That was Corvo’s voice. He forced his eyelids open, squinting immediately after as the light flooded his senses.

“Oh, Void.” Silver felt the familiar weight, the familiar warmth of a hand touching his face. “Can you hear me?”

He lifted his arms, grabbing vaguely near his chest until he felt his wrist, and held it gently. “Corvo?”

“Silver,” he replied, and as his face focused into view, Silver saw a smile bloom.

“Are you feeling alright?” asked Corvo, softly.

“Sore,” was the reply. “Stiff and sore all over.”

“Hm… not too surprising, I guess.”

It occurred to Silver that he was no longer on the boat, but resting on a soft bed. His eyes darted around, recognising the walls and interior decor to resemble that of the castle.

“We’re back,” he said.

Corvo laughed, leaving his other hand on Silver’s chest. “We’ve been back a while, Silv. You were out for twenty-one days, including our journey back.”

He froze, clearly not expecting to have been out for so long. “You… and Billie… must have been worried.”

“I’m just glad you’re back.”

“I’m… glad, too.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I suppose you’d like an explanation.”

“Not really, but it would be nice to know.” He leaned down to give his cheek a kiss. “After that, I’ll call the nurses.”

Silver nodded. “You should know that receiving a name, and giving a name, that’s easy. Giving a name you already own is not. It takes time for a given name to fade, and even then, it lingers. The only way to sever it completely is with the ancient blade. Just like how my name was let out through my neck and given to the Void. For me to give my name to the King, I needed to give my life.

“I suspected it was different this time, though. I was aware, I was of magic. And in this era, no one knows that name. It just needed enough of my life – my blood, a lot of it. In the past, they wanted to sacrifice _me._ This time, my _name_ was enough. A knife to the colon was far less deadly than an arterial slash. I just hoped it was enough.”

“And it was,” said Corvo. “Probably. The King became some sort of God, and it – I think it saved you.”

“Friend of my old friends,” said Silver, smiling. “Well, judging by the fact that I can no longer remember my name, I sure hope the ritual was a success. I can’t do it again.”

Corvo chuckled. “I wouldn’t let you do it again.”

“Even if I made sure I definitely wouldn’t die?”

Corvo sighed and laughed again, ruffling his hair.

For a while, they stayed there, looking at each other with their arms intertwined.

“Are you feeling alright?” the older man asked, suddenly.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, about everything. The ritual. Your name. I can’t imagine giving up my own name, it almost feels like it’s everything that I am.”

Silver shrugged. “It was nice when I had it back. The first fifteen years of my life, and for another five or so years, a few thousand years later. I suppose I spent most of my existence nameless.”

“It… clearly meant a lot to you.”

Silver looked up at him questioningly. “Why do you say that?”

“You’ve never told anyone your real name. You never even told me.”

For the first time, it occurred to Silver that it had mattered so much to him after all. He had never brought it up, not even once. But of course – it was such a Corvo thing to do, to wait patiently for his answer, to love him regardless. Still, it filled him with guilt the instant he realised.

“I don’t need to know.” The hand that was squeezing his, started squeezing tighter. “You’re Silver, and that’s all I need to know. But that other name was yours. You finally had it back. And you had to give it away so soon, for…”

He paused. Silver smiled, knowing Corvo already knew, but he said it anyway.

“For everyone’s sake. They have done many terrible things, Corvo. I have, too. I’ve seen it all. But do they deserve to die?” He shook his head. “I still don’t know. All I know is that this Empire is still standing because people showed mercy.” He looked up at Corvo. “A lot more drama, sure. But I suppose we learned a lesson, handed down for eons, now.”

Corvo raised an eyebrow, but he had a feeling he already knew what it was.

“Every life is precious, like water. Plentiful, but necessary. Every drop... has the potential to flourish. And I will not let it drain away.”

~

And he did not. Neither did Corvo, or Emily, or Billie. Call it a sunken cost fallacy, but they had come so far. They had found themselves in positions of power, at the forefront of a new history.

The world was changing, just as Billie thought it would. Years ago, she would have looked at the future with a tinge of dread. What good would it do, anyway, to rid a powerful beast of its owner? After going through so much and learning about the world beneath reality, it was like everything she knew was flipped upside down. There was no justice without injustice. No execution without murder.

But there was still that side of her that hoped. Alongside Silver, she had managed to hold onto that hope. Years had passed, and now she looked at the lands like a farmer would at her crop-filled fields.

Morley was as bustling as ever. Billie quite enjoyed the hearty environment and would let herself get carried along by the mood, even though she was a foreigner and technically a spy. Informant, actually, but basically a spy.

The technology widespread in Gristol had finally made its way here. The only difference was that the fuel tanks no longer held bright blue oil, instead housing a dark, blackish fluid instead. Solar-capturing devices were also common enough, and made life quite a bit more convenient than before.

Still, no amount of technological improvement could wring out the Morley heart and work ethic from them. The wind blew past, sending a bout of coolness through her clothes.

Suddenly, she sensed a small blip of light within her peripheral vision. She looked to the side. She saw a little girl with her hand outstretched, quickly retracted once she noticed Billie's gaze. Before she did, though, she saw it: a fireball materialising above her hand, which had a familiar tattoo on it.

Billie gave her a brief smile before walking on. In the distance, a chapel that had been bare for years began to fill with people again, slowly, after a royal decree had been spread throughout the Four Isles.

Where the Abbey had once held power, keeping magic for themselves and deeming all others evil, a new church was established. Building on the foundations of what their predecessors had done right, the priests of the Church of Storms and the Sea were not only generous in knowledge and kindness, but also impartial to all sorts of people - even the users of magic, the "witches", whom they supported behind the scenes in exchange for their loyalty.

Because beyond its lofty exterior was magic, real magic, and a real god. A dangerous magic, yes, and a god with a disdain for humanity, but one that upheld its own principles, which included fulfilling its end of a pact. 

And perhaps one day, just one day, magic could become common knowledge of the world.

~

When Silver entered his room, all Corvo could do was stare.

Suited in a new sleek uniform, black with silvery, golden highlights, Corvo wouldn’t be lying if he said he thought an angel had descended to take his soul away.

“How do I look?” asked Silver, redundantly.

“I like my men in uniform,” was the shameless reply. “Love, you look amazing.”

Silver flashed a grin. He knew he looked amazing, of course, but it was especially due to the new uniform. He spun around a full circle to show it off.

“This is almost nostalgic,” he said. “I remember when you were about to be sworn in as Royal Protector.”

Corvo laughed. “I remember it too. It was so... strange. Of course, I was honored, but it was unlike anything I’d ever imagined I’d be.”

“Funny you’d say that. It’s strange, indeed. I’ve witnessed countless protectors being sworn in before, I know the ceremony and everything. Still, it feels so different when you’re not just spectating. It’s as if… for the first time, I’ve become the main character.”

Corvo looked at him. “You’re nervous, aren’t you.”

Silver shot him a look, then sighed and pivoted around a heel.

“You didn’t need to point it out.”

A soft chuckle, one that made Silver smile. He turned to face his lover, looking at him with a dream-like gaze, as if he still couldn’t quite believe that he had experienced everything he had so far as human, as if Corvo being by his side after so long was perhaps one long hallucination. But it was real.

Corvo, with his head of greying hair, beautiful all the same, warm all the same. He leaned down, swept the strands of fringe from Corvo’s forehead, and gave him a short, sweet kiss.

~

The throne room was always so grand during an event. Silver thought he’d get used to it after so many years, but he never did. The brightness still blinded him a little, but he had to restrain his facial expression.

The room was fuller this time, and what a glamorous audience indeed.

Silver remembered with vivid accuracy when he had last kneeled down like this in front of their Empress. Same face, though her face must have been more youthful back then. Silver could barely imagine that now, as Emily’s face began showing a few ageing lines, she still looked as elegant and lively as ever.

By her side, her family joined her. In particular, there were two children - one fidgeting slightly in his seat, the other giving him a stern look. When they both looked at Silver, though, neither could quite hide their beaming pride. 

John Mayhew Kaldwin, and Jennifer Jessamine Kaldwin. Emily's twins. They had both just turned twelve. Collectively, they appointed Silver, their beloved Uncle Silver who’d been teaching them magic, self-defence and life lessons for as long as they could remember.

Riding on the trail blazed by the legendary Corvo Attano, the next generation takes the metaphorical scepter, following in his predecessor’s footsteps in becoming both Royal Spymaster and Protector. What an honorable position for the ex-Outsider to be in! The Abbey would have been frothing at the mouth.

His ability was undoubtedly put under scrutiny. As a Spymaster, there was nothing much that could be done, though Corvo would insist he was literally the best Spymaster Dunwall had ever seen. But as a protector, of the Crown’s lives?

Just to prove a point, Silver volunteered to fight the entire Royal guard. Just one at a time, though. He didn’t dare say he was as good a swordsman as Corvo was, because he wasn’t, and Corvo’s feats were still impossible for him -- at least not without magic. Still, the modest (in comparison) challenge was impressive all the same. In front of a willing crowd, he fought tirelessly, only slumping to the floor as he knocked down the last guard standing.

Though his ending move was a little unglamorous, no one was about to object to his position, not anytime soon. When he stood back up and looked at the crowd, there was a rousing applause.

~

“I suppose it’s prime time I retire,” said the older man, stretching with a yawn.

The port was as busy as usual, though there was a small hubbub at one particular spot, where passersby craned their necks to try and see past the line of Royal Guards, and then promptly hurried away by said guards. That section of the bay was sealed off temporarily as a certain Empress insisted on seeing off her generation’s Protector.

She was, of course, accompanied by the current generation’s Protector, so it wasn't necessarily an issue of security. It was simply that a respectable distance needed to be upheld by the crowd. Still, the sheer bustle of the port meant that people eventually lost interest, and whatever they said could barely be audible from a few metres away.

“Happy retirement, old man. What do you feel about me carrying on your legacy?” Silver teased.

Corvo scoffed. “If anything, you’ve surpassed me. Which is honestly not surprising.”

Silver smiled smugly. Emily grinned, albeit a bit sadly. Though her father deserved as much, she felt wistful at the thought of his departure to Serkonos. Surely they would meet up frequently enough, but compared to when Corvo was always by her side… it was bound to feel different.

Corvo’s retirement in Karnaca wasn’t entirely his choice, though. His reluctant smile made it clear that he didn’t want to be far away from his family, but his return to Karnaca wasn’t just a sentimental choice.

Magic still remained underground, but far more established than it was before the Whale God. Though there must have been many that had surpassed Corvo already, his years of intimacy with matters related to the Void meant that he wasn’t weak, either. He was to be their authority in Karnaca, not just for the Isle’s nobility, but for magic as well.

“I will miss you terribly, Corvo,” said Silver. “I’ll visit as often as possible.”

“With your job? It looks like I’ll have to do the visiting,” he replied with a chuckle. “Both of you. Don’t worry too much about me. And please take care.”

“I’ll make you proud, Corvo,” said Emily, holding back her tears.

“You already have.”

As Corvo walked onto the boat, he turned back at them, and shouted loud enough for them to hear.

“I love you, Silver!” He blew a kiss with both hands, raised his arms and looped it back to his head, forming a heart. Silver groaned, covering his face to hide his grin.

“And I love you, Emily!”

Emily hearted him back.

“I hope no one else heard that,” said Silver, who was still cringing internally. “Aren't you embarrassed by him?”

“Oh, he’s become absolutely shameless,” Emily replied. “That’s why you shouldn’t be so uptight as an adult. Else you’d let out all the silliness in your old age, like he has.”

They both snickered. They waved as the boat slowly sailed away.

And from that moment onwards, as it has always been, time will keep trickling along. The days would keep passing, the occasional event keeping everyone on the edge of their seats. The twins would grow up and inherit the throne, the nobles would learn of magic and attempt to hoard its power (and fail). One day, Silver might have to consider retirement as well.

The times were beautiful, but even the prettiest of flowers only last for so long.

~

They were lucky to be nearby when they heard the news. Nothing urgent, they were urged, but they should pay him a visit soon, if they'd like.

Emily came rushing in, with Silver following closely behind. Corvo laid in bed, giving them a warm smile when he saw them. Silver could practically feel him flickering like a candle.

Emily held her father’s hands, grasping them tight.

“I’m glad you’re here,” said Corvo.

Emily smiled, and leaned in to hug his torso.

“Look at who you’ve become, Emily,” he said softly, lightly touching her cheek. “You’re all grown up. You’ve become such a wonderful, capable, intelligent woman.”

“I love you, dad.”

“I love you too, Emily. More than you can imagine.”

Emily laughed at that, as she always did, whenever Corvo pulled that line on her. He rarely did, which made that laugh all the more special.

“What's Silv standing all the way there for? Ask him to come closer.”

Emily gave Silver a look. It was really just that, a look of acknowledgement and ‘you heard that, right?’, but it looked so tired. Then she kissed her father’s knuckles and stepped aside.

“Corvo,” said Silver.

“Come here.”

Holding his breath, Silver kneeled down by his bedside, holding his hands tight. He was always so warm. Corvo, with his large, tough hands, stroked his lover's face.

"How is everyone? Still making sure Emily isn't pulling her hair out?"

Silver could almost see Emily's face behind him.

"The twins always worry her, but she's been taking it easy. I made sure of it."

Corvo chuckled lightly. "Good. Silver, my love… thank you."

Silver's mouth slowly curled up into a frost-melting smile. "It's no problem at all, you know that."

"No, I really mean it. I… I don't know how else to express it. To have attracted your attention, all those years ago, as the Outsider as well but especially as Silver… I will forever feel like the luckiest man in the world. I'd have to be a greedy idiot to want anything more." He gave his hands a quick peck. "I have a request, though."

Silver's heart was in his mouth. "What is it?" 

Corvo leaned over to his bedside table. He opened the drawer and pulled out a cold, metal-stitched heart.

"It's just me being selfish, really. I want you to keep me by your side... but only for as long as you wish. When you move on, feel free to just let me go." 

Silver stared at the Heart, his lip trembling. Then he leaped at him, enveloping him in a crushing hug.

"Corvo," he whispered. "Don't let go."

Because at that moment, his heart was aching, like a wound in him had reopened and seeped out pain. He felt vulnerable, but in his arms he felt safe. Calm, content, like he'd finally found his place in the universe.

Those emotions he tried so hard to keep in check had taken over his entire body. It was a part of him he knew had always been there, he always felt so, so much. And he saw that part of himself reflected in Corvo, too.

This was what it felt like to be in love and be loved back. Now, finally, after thousands of years, he knew. And now, he couldn't imagine life without it.

"I love you," said Corvo, smiling. "I love you so much."

Silver held him tighter. "Corvo. My love. Please don't go. Please..."

A sigh. "You know... I never heard you say that before."

"Huh?"

"My love. That's my phrase. You said my love."

"But you are," Silver's voice was falling apart. “You are my love.”

"I'd like that." A chuckle. "I like it when you say it. My phrases are your phrases."

"My love," he repeated. "My love... My sweet love. I will love you for as long as I live." 

He remembered everything. The sweet confession he wanted, inside the dream. That quiet night on the balcony where they shared their first kiss. The times they spent laughing, bickering, arguing, loving. The times he felt vulnerable, the times he was whole.

They stayed with him through the night. They planned to stay up for as long as possible, much to Corvo's disapproval. Fortunately (or not), Emily soon nodded off to dreamland in her seat, arms and head resting on his bed.

Silver simply held him in an embrace. Corvo combed through Silver's fluffy hair with his fingers, repeating the similar motions over and over. He would do this for him whenever he had trouble sleeping, and with reason. It was effective.

They were asleep when it happened, but Silver felt it all the same. No matter how tightly he held on, he felt his soul slip through the cracks in his fingers.

Then, daylight broke, and he was gone.

~

It was a quiet, breezy day. Slightly chilly weather, but even more so as they stood in the royal graveyard. Corvo, buried beside Jessamine.

His epitaph read: A true protector, a man who rose from dishonor, time and time again.

Emily slowly stepped forward, placing a flower on his grave. Silver stood right behind her, a small token of remembrance in his hand as well.

_“This is nice. But I want both of you by my side.”_

Silver smiled, staring at the glowing centre of the Heart with much fondness.

“Do you think they’d let me be buried beside Corvo, Em?”

“Hm… depends on which one of us goes first.”

“You’d better outlive me then.”

The two laughed, despite the morbid talk of their own mortality. If anything, Silver was almost glad for it. It made Corvo seem less far away.

“I have to go, Em. It’s almost time for the twins’ training.”

“Alright. I’ll stay here a bit longer, you know, update him on everything that’s happening.”

Silver nodded. Before he could turn around and leave, Emily interrupted him with a question.

“How are the twins faring so far?” she asked.

“Good. They can protect themselves adequately, their offensive power looks promising as well. They’re fast, nimble, and the magic they manifest reflects that. They’ve got your genes.”

“Haha.” She looked towards Corvo's headstone proudly.

With a smiling nod, Silver walked off, slipping the Heart back into his chest.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments are highly appreciated and I'll almost definitely respond, because I love comments and their commenters. Have a good day :)


End file.
